Gauguin’s World: Tōna Iho, Tōna Ao at National Gallery of Australia

 

Paul Gauguin Three Tahitians (Trois tahitiens) 1899 oil on canvas 73 × 94 cm National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh.
Presented by Sir Alexander Maitland in memory of his wife Rosalind 1960, NG 222

 
 

Gauguin’s World
Tōna Iho, Tōna Ao

 

June 29, 2024 — October 7, 2024

Gauguin’s World: Tōna Iho, Tōna Ao offers visitors a rare opportunity to experience the enduring art of French post-impressionist Paul Gauguin (1848–1903). Featuring many of his most recognized masterpieces, some of which were created in the Pacific region, the exhibition offers new perspectives on Gauguin’s life and work, his artistic influences and networks, as well as his historical impact and contemporary legacies.

Through a display of the artist's distinctive painting, drawing, engraving, sculpture and decorative arts, curator and former director of the Musée du Louvre and Musée d’Orsay, Henri Loyrette, traces Gauguin's trajectory, from his impressionist beginnings to his final Polynesian visions. The exhibition reveals that Gauguin belonged to the art and themes of his time and how contemporary perspectives can enable new readings of his work.

Like other contemporary and historic artists, Gauguin’s life and art have increasingly and appropriately been debated here and around the world. In today’s context, Gauguin’s interactions in Polynesia in the later part of the 19th Century would not be accepted and are recognized as such. The National Gallery will explore Gauguin’s life, art and controversial legacy through talks, public programs, a podcast series and films. Also presented during the exhibition season will be a display of collection works by contemporary artists from the Pacific and further afield.

A fully illustrated publication has been published alongside the exhibition. Edited by exhibition curator Henri Loyrette and featuring his major new essay on Gauguin, the publication will include contributions from Gauguin experts Nicholas Thomas, Vaiana Giraud and Norma Broude.

Curator: Henri Loyrette

The exhibition has been organised by the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and Art Exhibitions Australia.

Gauguin's World has been made possible through the continued support and generosity of Principal Sponsor Mazda Australia, Principal Donor Singapore Airlines, Strategic Partner VisitCanberra, Media Partners News Corp and Seven West Media, and the Government of French Polynesia and Minister for Tourism.

Gauguin's World: Tona lho, Tona Ao is supported by the Australian Government International Exhibitions Insurance Program.

We acknowledge Exhibition Patrons Philip Bacon AO, Kay Bryan OAM, Christine Campbell and Terry Campbell AO, Krystyna Campbell-Pretty AM, Penelope Seidler AM, Lyn Williams AM, Maurice Cashmere, Robert Meller and Helena Clarke.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Exhibition Preview

 

Paul Gauguin Landscape 1873 oil on canvas 50.5 × 81.6 cm The Syndics of The Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge

Paul Gauguin Tahitian women (Femmes de Tahiti) 1891 oil on canvas 69 × 91.5 cm Musée d’Orsay, Paris. Gift of Countess Vitali 1923, RF 2765

Paul Gauguin, Parau na te varua ino (Words of the devil), 1892, Washington, DC, gift of the W Averell Harriman Foundation in memory of Marie N Harriman

Paul Gauguin Still life with horse’s head (Nature morte a la tete de cheval) 1886 oil on canvas. Artizon Museum, Ishibashi Foundation, Tokyo, 22588

Paul Gauguin, Still life with Hope, 1901, private collection, Milan © Paolo Vandrasch

Paul Gauguin, Portrait of the artist with ‘The yellow Christ’ (Portrait de l’artiste au ‘Christ jaune’), 1890–91, Musée d’Orsay, Paris, purchased with the participation of Philippe Meyer and Japanese sponsorship coordinated by the daily Nikkei 1993. Photo: (c) GrandPalaisRmn (musée d'Orsay) / René-Gabriel Ojeda

Paul Gauguin, Parahi te marae (The sacred mountain), 1892, Philadelphia Museum of Art, gift of Mr and Mrs Rodolphe Meyer de Schauensee 1980

Paul Gauguin, The swineherd, 1888, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of Lucille Ellis Simon and family in honour of the museum’s 25th anniversary © Museum Associates/Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Paul Gauguin Te faaturuma (The brooding woman) 1891 oil on canvas 91.1 × 68.7 cm Worcester Art Museum. Museum Purchase, 1921.186

Paul Gauguin, Bonjour, Monsieur Gauguin, 1889, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, gift of the Armand Hammer Foundation, the Armand Hammer Collection

Paul Gauguin, Lane at Alyscamps, Arles, 1888, Sompo Museum of Art, Tokyo

Paul Gauguin, Breton village in the snow, c 1894, Musée d’Orsay, Paris. Purchased with funds from an anonymous Canadian gift 1952 © Musée d’Orsay, distributed GrandPalaisRmn (photo: Hervé Lewandowski)

Paul Gauguin, Portrait of Madeleine Bernard, 1888, Musée de Grenoble, image courtesy Ville de Grenoble/Musée de Grenoble (photo: JL Lacroix)

Paul Gauguin, Street in Tahiti, 1891, Toledo Museum of Art, purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, gift of Edward Drummond Libbey © photo Josse/Bridgeman Images

Paul Gauguin, Portrait of the artist by himself, 1903, Kunstmuseum Basel, bequest of Dr Karl Hoffmann 1945

Samuel Josefowitz Collection of the School of Pont-Aven, through the generosity of Lilly Endowment Inc, the Josefowitz Family, Mr and Mrs James M Cornelius, Mr and Mrs Leonard J Betley, Lori and Dan Efroymson, and other Friends of the Museum, Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields

 
News 15Editorial TeamArt of the Ancestors, Steven G. Alpert, Asian Art, Island Southeast Asian Art, Oceanic Art, Asiatica, Ethnographica, Ethnographic Art, Art Collection, Fine Art, Primitive Art, Indonesian Art, Tribal Art, Eyes of the Ancestors, Dr. Reimar Schefold, National Gallery of Australia