Toulouse-Lautrec and Paris

The Clark showed (and now has lent)  nearly its entire extraordinary collection of works by the great French painter and printmaker Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864–1901).

Toulouse-Lautrec and Paris revels in Montmartre’s raucous streets, cabarets, theaters and circuses — venues frequented by modern artists seeking inspiration from the world of entertainment at the turn of the century. The exhibition  showcased Toulouse-Lautrec’s magnificent capacity for both quiet intimacy and theatrical flair in a variety of media.

Featured works includes an 1891–2 oil portrait of the famous Moulin Rouge dancer Jane Avril, a favored subject of the artist who appears in several of his works, including the visually striking Jane Avril (1899), one of Toulouse-Lautrec’s last poster designs. Among the approximately fifty lithographs will be a complete edition of Elles, Toulouse-Lautrec’s series of twelve lithographs depicting the private lives of prostitutes.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864–1901) was, in the words of one prominent critic, “the quintessential chronicler of Paris, as it is understood by those who come here seeking bright lights and wild pleasures.” Over the course of twenty years, he produced works in a wide range of media depicting dance halls, theaters, circuses, and the celebrities who performed in them — images that have come to define our vision of the era. Sterling and Francine Clark began collecting Toulouse-Lautrec’s lithographs in the 1920s, when they lived in Paris. They acquired their first painting by the artist in 1938, adding three more over the next thirteen years. Shortly after the Clark opened in 1955, these works were complemented by the purchase of an exceptional group of prints that had been collected by Dr. Herbert L. Michel of Chicago, including a complete set of Toulouse-Lautrec’s series Elles. Toulouse-Lautrec and Paris celebrates the Clark’s extensive collection of the artist’s work, exploring the themes and sites that inspired him and his contemporaries and providing a vibrant picture of Paris at the end of the nineteenth century.

• In the Studio
• Nightlife
• Celebrities
• In the Street
• Circus and Track
• Privileged Views
• Click to listen to seventeen audio selections from theToulouse-Lautrec and Paris exhibition. And visit the Clark’s online store for a selection of gifts from exhibits and beyond.