CLEVELAND: The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is looking forward to the homecoming of Impressionist and Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art, on view October 21, 2007 – January 13, 2008, at CMA.  Admission to the exhibition is FREE.

Impressionist and Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art drew more than 522,000 visitors in Asia with venues in Seoul, Tokyo and Beijing and attracted more than 200,000 during its stop in Vancouver, British Columbia.  This exhibition, making a stop in Cleveland this fall, covers a century of art making from 1864 to 1964 and showcases important works by the major Impressionists, Post-Impressionists, early modern sculptors and avant-garde artists interested in Dadaism, Cubism and Surrealism.

Impressionist and Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art, curated by William H. Robinson, features 144 works from the museum’s distinguished collection of 19^th and 20^th century European art (87 paintings, 21 sculptures and 36 works on paper). The exhibition, also known as Monet to Dalí on its world tour, includes masterworks in painting, drawing, prints and sculpture by the most important and influential artists of the modernist era. Organized as a large touring exhibition, the presentation has been expanded in Cleveland to include works seen only at this venue.  Among the featured highlights are fragile pastels and works on paper not normally on view.  Visitors will be able to view iconic works by Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, and Auguste Rodin, tracing the development of modern European art from Impressionism through early-20^th-century avant-gardes.

“We are excited to welcome the return of some the Museum’s most treasured and cherished works of art,” Timothy Rub, CMA director, said.  “Many of our visitors will be pleased to know they can see some of their old friends back on temporary display at the Museum.  It has been quite some time since these works of art have graced our walls, as this collection has been making its way around the globe delighting thousands who would not have the opportunity to travel to Cleveland.”

Impressionist and Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art is presented in four large, thematic sections:  The Impressionist Epoch, Beyond Impressionism, Rodin, and Picasso and the Avant-Garde.  Masterworks include: Claude Monet’s (French, 1840–1926) The Red Kerchief: Portrait of Mme. Monet (1868–70); Edgar Degas’ (French, 1834-1917) Dancers (1896); Vincent van Gogh’s (Dutch, 1853–1890) Poplars at Saint-Rémy (1889); Auguste Rodin’s (French, 1840–1917) Heroic Head of Pierre de Wiessant, One of the Burghers of Calais (1886); Amedeo Modigliani’s (Italian, 1884–1920) Portrait of a Woman (c. 1917–18); Henri Matisse’s (French, 1869–1954) Festival of Flowers, Nice (1923); Pierre Renoir’s (French 1841-1919) Romaine Lacaux (1864); Paul Gauguin’s (French, 1848-1903) In the Waves (Dans les vagues) (1889); Pablo Picasso’s (Spanish, 1881-1979) Still Life with Biscuits (1924); Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s (French, 1864-1901) Monsieur Boileau at the Café (1893); and Odilon Redon’s (French, 1840-1916) Orpheus (1903-10).

The exhibition travels to the Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, in February 2008, then on to Salt Lake City and Detroit. The works will return to be installed in the permanent collection galleries of The Cleveland Museum of Art in early 2009.

Impressionist and Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art is a free show, but timed tickets are required. Hours are Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.  Wednesdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m.  Closed on Mondays.  Parking is available at CMA’s newly renovated parking garage.  For further information, call 1-888-CMA-0033 or visit www.ClevelandArt.org.