The Draw of the Normandy Coast, 1860-1960 August 9, 2012

The northern coast of France--and Normandy in particular--proved to be an artistic crucible for French and American painters during the course of the 19th and 20th centuries. Geographically convenient to Paris, accessible by train, with dramatic cliffs and rock formations, and picturesque and active ports, Normandy was an attractive haven. Realists, Impressionists, Neo-Impressionists, Fauves, Cubists, and Surrealists all gravitated to the area, including Claude Monet, Henri Matisse, Camille Pissarro, and James Abbott McNeill Whistler. This exhibition charts the coast's significance and showcases the ways in which the landscape was rendered by a spectrum of artists. This exhibition explores the importance of the towns and villages of Honfleur and Le Havre, and such unique destinations as Etretat and features more than 40 works of European and American art, mostly paintings and works on paper, from the Portland Museum of Art's holdings and from the private collection of Isabelle and Scott Black, and holdings from other generous lenders.