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'Turner to Cezanne: Masterpieces from the Davies Collection, National Museum Wales' will travel to five venues altogether and will open at the Columbia Museum of Art on 6 March 2009. The other venues include Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Oklahoma City; Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, New York; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; and Albuquerque Museum, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The exhibition, organised by the American Federation of Arts and Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales, features 58 oil paintings and watercolours, some of which have never been seen in the United States of America before.

The Welsh sisters Gwendoline and Margaret Davies were avid collectors of art, and they assembled a collection which ranged from Old Master paintings to the work of contemporary British artists, which they later bequeathed to the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff.

The sisters were among the most important British collectors of progressive French art at this date, with a particular fondness for the late work of Monet. They were also among the earliest British patrons to buy the mature work of Cézanne and Van Gogh.

The Davies sisters believed passionately in social and cultural improvement, as well as the spiritual value of art. They were generous lenders to exhibitions in their lifetime. Works from their collection were first seen in an exhibition in Cardiff in 1913.

Oliver Fairclough, guest curator of the exhibition, and Keeper of Art, Amgueddfa Cymru said:

We are delighted to be able to present this important exhibition to five different venues in the US, offering visitors the chance to see incredibly beautiful works of art by some of the world’s greatest Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artists for the first time.

Alun Ffred Jones, Welsh Assembly Government Minister for Heritage said:

These paintings will not only put Wales on the map at an international level, but will inspire, entertain and educate millions in the future. This exciting and powerful exhibition will capture the public imagination and will tell one of the greatest stories ever told by Wales. I am hopeful that having highlights from our national collection on display further afield will have a direct impact on Wales as well as the tourism industry.

Tour Schedule:

Related Links

http://new.wales.gov.uk/topics/cultureandsport/arts/?lang=en

http://new.wales.gov.uk/topics/cultureandsport/museumsarchiveslibraries/acnmw/?lang=en