November 26, 2024

Make Way for Berthe Weill: Art Dealer of the Parisian Avant-Garde at New York University’s Grey Art Museum, through March 1, 2025 

“New York University’s Grey Art Museum presents Make Way for Berthe Weill: Art Dealer of the Parisian Avant-Garde, featuring works by modern artists championed by a dealer who remains relatively unknown. Weill (pronounced “vay”) was the first dealer to purchase works by Pablo Picasso in 1901, and she promoted Henri Matisse and Amedeo Modigliani, among many others. Yet her role in early 20th century modernism has been omitted from most historical accounts. This landmark exhibition sets the record straight. On view from October 1, 2024 to March 1, 2025, the groundbreaking show is the second at the museum’s new and expanded galleries at 18 Cooper Square. 

Some 110 paintings, drawings, prints, and sculpture by modern giants such as Picasso, Matisse, Aristide Maillol, Fernand Léger, and Raoul Dufy are featured alongside works by less well-known artists. Together they create a compelling portrait of Weill (1865–1951), who operated her gallery for four decades in four different Parisian locations and was the first to promote work created exclusively by emerging artists. The exhibition highlights Weill’s influence and examines the sexism, antisemitism, and economic struggles she faced as she advocated for cutting-edge contemporary art in a competitive Parisian art market.” — Grey Art Museum

Henri Matisse, Liseuse en robe violette (Reading woman in a violet dress), 1898. Oil on canvas, 14 7/8 x 18 1/8 in. (37.8 x 46 cm). Musée des Beaux-Arts, Reims, France. 949.1.40 © 2024 Succession H. Matisse / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo: Christian Devleeschauwer
Kees van Dongen, La Femme au canapé (Woman on a sofa), c. 1920. Oil on canvas, 35 1/8 x 46 in. (89.2 x 116.8 cm). Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Gift of Dr. Max Stern, 1978.21 © 2024 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris
André Derain, Fishing Boats, Collioure, 1905. Oil on canvas, 14 15/16 × 17 15/16 in. (38 × 45.5 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. The Philip L. Goodwin Collection, 1958, 100.1958 © 2024 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris
Marc Chagall, Bella à Mourillon, 1926. Oil on canvas, 18 1/8 x 25 5/8 in. (46 x 65 cm). Private collection © 2024 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris
Diego Rivera, Tour Eiffel (Eiffel Tower), 1914. Oil on canvas, 45 1/4 x 36 1/4 in. (115 x 92 cm). Private collection © 2024 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo: Mary-Anne Martin Fine Art, New York
Raoul Dufy, 30 ans ou la Vie en rose (Thirty years or la Vie en rose), 1931. Oil on canvas, 38 5/8 x 50 3/8 in. (98 x 128 cm). Musée d’Art Moderne de la ville de Paris. Donation of Mathilde Amos, 1955, 1924 © 2024 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo: CC0 Paris Musées / Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris

“This exhibition spotlights the remarkable story of an indomitable woman who maintained a gallery in Paris, the art capital of the world, from 1901 to 1941,” says Lynn Gumpert, director of the Grey Art Museum and one of the curators of the exhibition. “Weill sought out unproven artists, some of whom became household names and some of whom didn’t. But all benefited from her creativity, ingenuity, and passion.”

Make Way for Berthe Weill was organized by NYU’s Grey Art Museum, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris.

Title image: Émilie Charmy, Portrait de Berthe Weill (Portrait of Berthe Weill), 1910–14. Oil on canvas, 35 3/8 x 24 in. (90 x 61 cm). Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Purchase, Annie White Townsend Bequest, 113.2024 © Alberto Ricci. Photo: MMFA, Julie Ciot.

Images courtesy New York University’s Grey Art Museum.