‘Masterpieces from Paris’ Breaks Australian Attendance Records

“We predicted that we would get 250,000 people, but we didn’t predict that we would get 250,000 people six weeks before the finish of the exhibition and before Easter,” he said. “So we’re very thrilled about that.” Ron Radford, Director National Gallery of Australia, 2010.

The summer exhibition at the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, has broken previous attendance records. The exhibition opened 4 December 2009, and on Friday 26 February Ron Radford, Director of the National Gallery, personally welcomed the 250 000th visitor. According to tourism statistics, around 70% of the visitors are from outside Canberra. The previous record was set in 1992, with Rubens and the Italian Renaissance which attracted 241 770 visitors.

Masterpieces from Paris: Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cézanne and beyond is the result of a joint venture between the Musée d’Orsay in Paris and the National Gallery of Australia. It is widely said to be one of the most spectacular exhibitions to come to Australia.

The exhibition showcases some of the best-known works of modern art from the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. There are 112 pieces in all, including some of the World’s most well-know paints from this period, such as Van Gogh’s Bedroom at Arles 1889, Cézanne’s beloved Mount Saint-Victoire circa 1890, Gauguin’s Tahitian women 1891.

With these best-known and often-reproduced paintings, paintings that are central to the Musée d’Orsay’s outstanding reputation as a leading international art museum, this landmark exhibition demonstrates the dramatic changes that took place in European art at the end of the 19th century.

The museum has a wide range of activities and events associated with the exhibition, and a wonderful and exemplary exhibition website; for more details on the exhibition and the related activities click here.

Paul Gaugin. Washerwomen at Pont-Aven [Les lavandières à Pont-Aven], 1886. Oil on canvas 71 cm x 90 cm. © Musée d’Orsay, Paris. One of the 112 masterpieces from Paris currently on show in Australia.