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Portrait of a Lady :
American Paintings and Photographs in France, 18701915
April 1 - July 14, 2008
This exhibition, organized in collaboration with the Musée des Beaux-Arts
de Bordeaux, will feature approximately 60 paintings, drawings, prints, and
photographs of women at the turn of the last century drawn primarily from
French public collections. These paintings were produced by celebrated American
artists such as John White Alexander, Thomas Eakins, William T. Dannat or
John Singer Sargent and photographs taken by Americans Gertrude Käsebier,
George Henry Seeley, Edward Steichen and Clarence H. White. They demonstrate
a decorative elegance that relates to the renewal of high society portraiture
during this period. Several works from the Terra Foundation for American
Art collection from this same historic period will be included to enrich
and complete the exhibition.
Through the La Fayette database, curators of this exhibition identified an
impressive selection of representations of women produced around 1900 and
located in French museums.
This exhibition will showcase these rich holdings of American art from the
late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in French collections. Often
purchased by the French government during the annual Salons, these paintings
and photographs demonstrate not only the integration of numerous American
artists into the official world of French art, but also the prolonged interest
of public institutions for this foreign art. In addition, the
presence of a work of art in the French national collection became a sign
of prestige for American artists and assured their success in France and
America. In this way, many artists (like Cecilia Beaux and Mary Cassatt)
decided to donate paintings to the musée du Luxembourg so as to make
certain works visible in France. Thus, in 1898 John White Alexander, whose
painting The Green Bow had been purchased by the French government, offered
to exchange it for his Portrait in Gray so as to be represented by a more
significant picture.
Pictorialist photographers George Seeley, Clarence H. White, and Edward Steichen
demonstrated a wide ranging interest in depictions of women. At the time,
Japanese art and aesthetics inspired artists in the use of flat picture planes,
daring compositions and decorative lines. Many of the photographs also reveal
artistic intervention directly on the print or the conscious use of reflections
and blurred areas. These subtle techniques point to the desire of many
photographers to imitate painting.
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Dennis Miller Bunker
The Miror, 1890
Oil on Canvas , 128 x 102.6 cm
©Terra Foundation for American Art
Mary Cassatt
Maternal Caress, 1890-91
Drypoint, aquatint in color and softground
etching 36.7 x 26.7 cm
© Terra Foundation for American Art |
At Leisure: American Paintings
April 1 - October 31, 2008
In the second half of the nineteenth century, the United States knew an
unprecedented economic development and industrialisation. However, painters
of this period seemed to favour the representations of leisure. Responding
to the patrons demands, they depicted a gilded age of American
society devoted to perpetual entertainment. Images of women sewing peacefully
and children playing in everlasting flowered gardens, reflected a taste for
the so-called genre painting. This new iconography was directly
linked to the growth of an upper middle-class, to which artists belonged
or identified themselves.
About sixty paintings, drawings and prints from the Terra Foundation for
American Art collection will introduce the visitor to one of the greatest
invention of the modern era: leisure. |
Edward Henry Potthast
Ring around the Rosy, c. 1915
©TFAA |
Impressionist Giverny: a Colony of Artists, 1885 - 1915
April 1 - July 1, 2007
Giverny welcomed hundreds of artists from
the late 1880s through World War I. Though
Claude Monet did not encourage others
to follow him to the village where he settled in 1883, Giverny quickly became
a popular destination for international artists and students. Many artists
stayed for long periods, socializing at the Hôtel Baudy, painting in
and around the town, and often purchasing homes and studios, ultimately
transforming the village into a flourishing artists colony.
Impressionist Giverny: A Colony of Artists, 18851915 is
the first exhibition to study the international phenomenon of this artist
community over a thirty year period, within the context of rural artists
colonies. It consists of more than 80 paintings from European and American
collections including approximately 30 works from the Terra Foundation for
American Art, which has an exceptional collection of paintings by American
artists who have worked in Giverny.
Divided into four sections, the exhibition traces the chronological, stylistic
and thematic evolution of art produced in the village. Alongside
Claude Monet, it features famous
impressionist artists such as John Leslie Breck, Frederick MacMonnies or
Theodore Robinson and less well-known figures such as William Blair Bruce
or Alson Clark. Numerous historic documents and photographs related to the
Giverny colony contribute to the scholarly nature of the exhibition. |
John Leslie Breck
Studies of an Automn Day 7, 1891
Oil on Canvas 33.7 x 41.3 cm
Chicago, Terra Foundation for American Art
©TFAA
Claude Monet
Poppy Field (w1253), 1890
Oil on Canvas 61.2 x 93.1 cm
The Art Institute of Chicago.
Mr and Mrs W. W. Kimball Collection (22.4465)
©Reproduction, The Art Institute of Chicago |
Images of the West:
Survey Photographs in French Collections, 1860 - 1880
July 10 - October 31, 2007
Following the trauma of the Civil War, the United States turned to the majestic
landscapes of the West. The United States government funded official expeditions
of the Western territories from 1867 to 1879, and photography proved to be
an integral component, revealing vast expanses of wilderness as never before.
These previously uncharted territories of untapped natural resources provided
an optimistic vision for Americans during the post-war era of Reconstruction.
The selection of memorable glass-plate photographs will include such iconic
sites as Yosemite, Yellowstone, and the Grand Canyon in addition to lesser-known
portraits of Native Americans and their dwellings. Though taken concurrently,
the landscapes and ethnographic photographs have been systematically separated
in recent exhibitions and studies. By displaying them together, the exhibition
provides a more complete picture of the original context.
Another novelty of this exhibition is that all photographs included in the
exhibition are drawn from French public collections where a surprising number
of these Western views have been uncovered in recent years.
The exhibition will include a selection of approximately sixty photographs
by celebrated photographers including Carleton Watkins (1829-1916), Timothy
H. O'Sullivan (18401882), William H. Jackson (18431942), and
William Bell (18301910), in addition to official reports, albums,
portfolios and catalogues that emphasize the high-profile editorial aspect
of the Western surveys. |
William Bell
Chocolate Butte near the mouth of the Paria, 1872
© All rights reserved / Societe de geographie |
Passing Through Paris : American Artists in France, 1860-1930
April 1- October 30, 2006, Gallery B
In the late-nineteenth century France became an international center for
artistic training and production. American artists arrived in record numbers
to study at the prestigious art academies, exhibit works at the salons and
sojourn in the picturesque countryside.
This exhibition presents works completed in France by American artists from
1860-1930 drawn from the collection of the Terra Foundation for American
Art. Aesthetic developments linked to French schools of painting such as
Barbizon or Impressionism are clearly evident as are recurring subjects
including: bustling city streets and cafés, quaint villages, and appealing
seashores.
The choice of subject indicates not only that Americans were apt to frequent
the same areas, but that they were responding to the demands of the growing
art market in the United States. In fact, travel to France became a rite
of passage for professional artists who then returned home to practice and
teach what they had learned abroad. |
Frederick Carl Frieseke
Lady in a garden, c. 1912
©TFAA |
Americans at Home, 1860-1930
April 1 October 30, 2006, Gallery A
In contrast with the works presented in Passing Through Paris : American
Artists in France 1860-1930, this exhibition explores paintings executed
in the United States that have a distinctly American flavor.
Given the pervading dominance of European culture and the fact that so many
of these artists studied at European art academies, it was difficult to make
the claim to a purely
American style ; however, there was undeniably a compelling need
to define a national art. As in other domains, America was seeking to
differentiate itself and declare its independence in art during this era. |
Robert Dunning
Harvest of Cherries, 1866
© TFAA |
Three Roads Taken: The photographs of Paul Strand
April 1 - June 11, 2006, Gallery C
From April to June, the Musée dArt Américain Giverny
welcomes an exhibition dedicated to the great American photographer Paul
Strand (1890-1976).
Organized by the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the exhibition will
consist of approximately seventy-three photographs, drawn from the rich holding
of Strand photographs in the Gettys collection. The exhibition will
be a chronological survey featuring his cubist- inspired still lifes from
around 1916; his experimental landscapes from the 1930s and the 40s from
New Mexico and Maine; and finally his series of portraits made in France,
Italy, and Scotland from the 1950s.
As one of the great photographers of the twentieth century, his legacy continues,
and later generations of photographers have found inspiration in his work. |
Paul Strand (1890-1976)
Tailor's Apprentice, 1953
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
©Aperture Foundation |
Winslow Homer, poet of the sea
June 18 - September 24, 2006, Gallery C
The Musée dArt Américain Giverny and the Dulwich Picture
Gallery organize Winslow Homer: Poet of the Sea, an exhibition that will
introduce European audiences to one of Americas most treasured artists.
This will be the first monographic exhibition in Europe on Winslow Homer,
indisputably one of the finest American artists and indeed a major figure
in all of 19th century painting.
Though first celebrated for his Civil War and genre scenes, Winslow Homer
is perhaps at his most magical when capturing water, whether in oil or
watercolor. This exhibition will clearly represent the freshness of Homers
approach, his inventiveness, and the underlying emotional and psychological
complexity.
Divided into five sections by geographical location, the exhibition will
establish Homers extraordinary ability to adapt his style and technique
to the environment, capturing the quintessence of the surrounding landscape
in Gloucester, Cullercoats, Prouts Neck, the Bahamas or Florida, and
the Adirondacks.
After opening at the Dulwich Picture Gallery in February 2006, the exhibition
will travel to the Musée dArt Américain Giverny from
18th June to 24th September 2006. |
Winslow Homer
Three boys on the shore, 1873
© TFAA |
Passing Through Paris : American Artists in France, 1860-1930
April 1- October 30, 2005
In the late-nineteenth century France became an international center for
artistic training and production. American artists arrived in record numbers
to study at the prestigious art academies, exhibit works at the salons and
sojourn in the picturesque countryside.
This exhibition presents works completed in France by American artists from
1860-1930 drawn from the collection of the Terra Foundation for American
Art. Aesthetic developments linked to French schools of painting such as
Barbizon or Impressionism are clearly evident as are recurring subjects
including: bustling city streets and cafés, quaint villages, and appealing
seashores. The choice of subject indicates not only that Americans were apt
to frequent the same areas, but that they were responding to the demands
of the growing art market in the United States. In fact, travel to France
became a rite of passage for professional artists who then returned home
to practice and teach what they had learned abroad and Paris was the first
stop.
The fifty-five works presented in the exhibition include paintings by eminent
American artists such as John Singer Sargent, James Abbott McNeill Whistler,
Maurice Brazil Prendergast, Frederick Carl Frieseke and George Inness. The
Terra Foundation for American Art possesses a pre-eminent collection of works
American artists produced in France, reflecting the interests of its founder
Daniel J. Terra.
April 1 October 30, 2005 documentation room, on the floor below
Through reproductions of paintings, postcards and photographs, this brand
new documentation space tells the story of Giverny and its artists. Impressionist
master Claude Monet settled in the village in 1883, and Giverny quickly became
a popular destination for international artists. Attracted to the village
because of its proximity to Paris, its inexpensive, English-speaking hotel,
and its natural beauty, young artists began to spend the summer or the entire
year in Giverny, painting outdoors. Between 1887 and 1915, hundreds of artists
worked in Giverny, painting villagers, haystacks, and the surrounding
countryside. Short texts and numerous images help visitors understand the
historic and artistic significance of this small village. |
Frederick Carl Frieseke (1874-1939)
Lady in a garden, c. 1912
©TFAA |
Mary Cassatt, Impressionist Printmaker
April 1 July 3, 2005
Books and exhibitions devoted to Mary Cassatt are rare in France despite
the fact that this well-known American artist exhibited with the French
Impressionists and produced a large body of work in a variety of techniques
: painting, pastel, and prints.
This exhibition focuses on the prints of Mary Cassatt, from her first forays
into printmaking around 1880 to her magnificent aquatints from the 1890s.
The Terra Foundation for the Arts has an exceptional collection of 12 of
these aquatints. To this collection will be added 26 gems of the collections
of the Bibliothèque nationale de France. The printed works of Mary
Cassatt demonstrate the renewed interest in printmaking shared by the
impressionists. Like them, she explored a variety of techniques (etching,
monotype, drypoint engraving, and aquatint); enjoyed the experimentation
involved in the various states or phases of printmaking; and found fascination
in Japanese prints. Cassatts prints echo works by Edgar Degas and Camille
Pissarro. |
Mary Cassatt (1844-1926)
Woman Bathing
©TFAA |
From Homer to Hopper :
Drawings and Watercolors from the Princeton University Art Museum
April 1 July 3, 2005
Ranging from the eighteenth through the twentieth centuries, these 75 works
on paper will offer the public a unique perspective on the evolution of American
art through this outstanding collection. Started in the late 1930s, at the
very beginning of American arts ascent into the historical canon, the
collection of over one thousand American works on paper at Princeton University
remains one of the richest and most comprehensive in the United States.
It is notable for both its richness and its variety. The museums deep
holdings of works by Hudson River School artists and early twentieth-century
modernists (many of these hitherto unpublished) complement diverse masterpieces
by such eminent figures as Thomas Cole, Winslow Homer, Thomas Eakins, Mary
Cassatt or Edward Hopper. |
Winslow Homer (1836-1910)
The Trysting Place, 1875
©Trustees of Princeton University |
American Artists from the Musée de Blérancourt
July 10 October 30, 2005
A selection of forty paintings and drawings from the Musée national
de la coopération franco-américain in Blérancourt
demonstrate the richness and diversity of the French government collection
of American art.
These paintings allow visitors to follow the development of American art
from 1880 to 1920, a period marked by frequent travel between the two countries
and a greater influence of Europe on American art.
Paintings in the exhibition show not only the importance of French styles
and techniques for American artists but also the French attraction for American
art. Indeed, acquired by the French government, either at the Salons of the
19th century or in more recent years, each picture tells the complex story
of the evolving French taste for American art.
Finally, this exhibition offers visitors a chance to view this important
collection of American art in conjunction with pictures on view in adjacent
galleries from the Terra Foundation for American art. The collections complement
each other and invite numerous comparisons. |
Frederick Childe Hassam (1859-1935)
Avenue of the Allies, 1918
©RMN |
The American Scene, 1860-1910
July 10 October 30, 2005
To complement the works included in Passing Through Paris: American Artists
in France 1860-1930, this exhibition presents paintings executed in the United
States that have a distinctly American flavor. Harbor scenes
are paired with scenes of industry, both clear indications of a burgeoning
economy in the expanding republic. Other popular subjects during this period
were genre scenes and still life which reveal hidden moral messages and bourgeois
aspirations.
An exhibition of approximately twenty paintings, it includes works by: Winslow
Homer, Fitz Hugh Lane, John Frederick Kensett, William Sydney Mount, John
James Audubon and William Meritt Chase. |
Alfred T. Bricher (1837-1908)
« City of Saint Paul »
on the Mississipi at Dubuque, Iowa, 1872
©TFAA |
En Plein Air: Figures in a Landscape
April 1 - October 31, 2004
A selection of paintings from the Terra Foundation for the Arts demonstrates
the importance of plein air painting for American artists of the nineteenth
century. Inspired by French realist artists seeking to capture the
particularities of a landscape and French impressionists interested in the
changing conditions of light and shade, many Americans adopted the practice
of painting outdoors. These works, all painted in France, feature human figures
integrated into landscape settings. |
Robert Vonnoh (1858-1933)
Peasant Garden, 1890
Huile sur toile, 65,7 x 50,2 cm
© TFA |
An American Among The Nabis: Thomas Buford Meteyard
(July 11 - October 31, 2004)
During early years spent in France studying at the École des Beaux
Arts, Thomas Buford Meteyard (1865-1928) was exposed to the latest currents
in art: Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Japonism and Symbolism. It was
while summering in Giverny that Meteyard began to explore more experimental
techniques. Unlike most of his compatriots, it seems that Meteyard, who spoke
fluent French was able to integrate into exclusive French artistic and literary
circles.
In 1892, Meteyard was featured as one of the "young innovative painters"
in two exhibitions at the Le Barc de Bouteville gallery, which also included
the work of Nabis painters Paul Gauguin, Maurice Denis, Pierre Bonnard, Edouard
Vuillard and others. He also participated in prestigious exhibitions in both
Chicago and Boston. Upon his return to the United States, Meteyard continued
to explore the modern aesthetics he first encountered in France through both
painting and book illustrations.
Thomas Buford Meteyard continues a series of focused exhibitions that highlight
artists that found in Giverny an important place of experimentation and artistic
collaboration. |
Thomas Buford Meteyard (1865-1928)
Giverny Moonlight, c.1890
Huile sur toile 32,4 x 41 cm
© TFA |
American Artists' Books in Europe: 1960-2000
(June 11 - October 31, 2004)
This exhibition will explore the achievements of recent American artists
in the book media and study the transatlantic connections between American
artists and European printers and printmakers.
Although American artists have been illustrating books since the late nineteenth
century, the development of true "Artists' Books" began in the 1960s as artists
sought freedom from traditional means of art-making and viewing. Since this
time period, numerous American artists travelled to Europe to produce books.
Looking for the expertise offered by European printers and printmakers or
seeking out a specific partner for collaboration, American artists established
successful working relationships with European artists, writers, and printmakers.
Occasionally, European presses offered American artists an economic advantage
and allowed them to reach a foreign audience.
Visually and intellectually pleasing, the artists' books in this exhibition
will give visitors the opportunity to view a variety of printmaking, binding,
and layout techniques employed by American artists over the past 40 years.
The books will also serve as a basis for an overview of American art history
from 1960 to the present, with examples of pop, minimalism, and conceptual
art. |
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Faces of America: from George Washington to Marilyn Monroe
(April 1 - October 31, 2004)
Portraiture is of particular importance in the history of American painting,
and the Terra Foundation for the Arts counts numerous portraits among its
collection. It allows one to simultaneously explore the history of symbolic
representation of American society and the evolution of pictorial styles
in American art.
The portrait is the most significant genre for a nation in development. During
colonial times, it was a means for the high and bourgeois society to give
a favorable image of themselves (John Singleton Copley, Portrait of Mrs.
John Stevens, for example). After the nation gained independence, the portrait
was also used to political ends by painters of the young nation to affirm
the status of public figures at the beginning of the nineteenth century
(Rembrandt Peale, George Washington). In turn, it is the genre of choice
for painters, in the second half of the 19th century, more concerned with
realism, so as to convey, through the individualized traits of a person,
a reality tinged with social concerns. (Winslow Homer, The Nurse, Thomas
Eakins, Portrait of Thomas J. Eagan, Robert Wylie, The Breton Audience).
During the final quarter of the nineteenth century, painters representing
their family circles or those of their patrons captured the portrait of carefree
bourgeois society (Edmund Charles Tarbell, In the Orchard). Realistic trends
of the early 20th century open portraiture to the unidealized representation
of individuals marginalized by society (Bellows, Nude Girl, Miss Leslie Hall,
John Graham, The Green Chair).
The exhibition will highlight another important strength of the Terra Foundation
for the Arts collection and initiate the French public to a more sociological
aspect of American painting. |
Thomas Wilmer Dewing (1851-1938)
Madelaine, c. 1890
Oil on canvas, 56.7 x 48.7 cm
© TFA |
Edward Hopper: The Paris Years, 1906-1910
(April 1 - July 4, 2004)
The Whitney Museum is organizing a travelling exhibition of the early work
of Edward Hopper in Paris. A retrospective of Edward Hopper's work was presented
in 1989 in Marseille, Musée Cantini, it was the first solo-exhibition
of an American artist (prior to 1945) ever presented in a French museum.
The exhibition and catalogue were a huge critical and public success.
Nevertheless, this exhibition did not present any work from Hopper's early
years, and none of the works he had realized in Paris.
Having recently finished his study at the New York School of Arts under Robert
Henri, Edward Hopper decided to travel to Europe to see the works of the
great masters firsthand. Living at 48, rue de Lille, just across the river
from the Louvre, Hopper chose not to enrol in any school in Paris, rather
he visited exhibitions and painted en plein air. The Paris years (in the
course of three trips between 1906 and 1910) were seminal to the development
of his later work. Hopper was much affected by his first trip to Paris, which
lasted nearly ten months, all but five weeks of them spent in Paris. Years
later he recalled: "I could just go a few steps and I'd see the Louvre across
the river. From the corner of the rues du Bac and Lille you could see the
Sacré-Coeur. It hung like a great vision in the air above the city." |
Edward Hopper (1882-1967)
Le Bistro, 1909
Oil on Canvas, 59.37 x 72.39 cm
© Whitney Museum of Art, New York |
American Beauty
Painting and Sculpture from the Detroit Institute of Arts, 1770 - 1920
02 March 2003 - 01 June 2003 |
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Giverny in Bloom
Works by American artists featuring the blooming Giverny.
02 March 2003 - 17 August 2003 |
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The People Work
American Perspectives, 1840-1940
15 June 2003 - 17 August 2003 |
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An Artistic Friendship : Beauford Delaney and Lawrence Calcagno
15 June 2003 - 17 August 2003 |
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Paris, Capital of America.
The American Avant-Garde in Paris 1918-1939: An Ambivalent Fascination
31 August 2003 - 30 November 2003 |
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From a Colony to a Collection :
Celebrating the Tenth Anniversary of the MAAG
30 March 2002 - 16 June 2002 |
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Jasper Johns :
Prints
23 June 2002 - 8 September 2002 |
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Paris-New York, Round Trip :
Works from the Terra Foundation for the Arts and the Huntington Library
15 September 2002 - 30 November 2002 |
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Japonisme in America :
Works on Paper, 1880-1930
15 September 2002 - 30 November 2002 |
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Rivers and banks : the American artists, 1850-1900
From April 1st to October 31st, 2000
Canvases of the Terra Foundation for the Arts collection featuring scenes
on seashores, rivers or lakes. |
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America and the Moderns, 1900 - 1950
From July 25th to October 31st, 2000
Paintings and works on paper of the American art in the first half of the
20th century : Georgia o'Keeffe, Edward Hopper, Arthur Dove, Stuart Davis,
Marsden Hartley, etc. |
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Illustrated books of the 19th century
From July 25th to October 31st, 2000
Display of books illustrated by American paintors of the 19th century
: Winslow Homer, Elihn Vedder, Felix O. C. Darley and Thomas Cole. |
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Theodore Robinson
From April 1st to July 16th, 2000
"Sketches and Photographies"
Works by the young pupil and great admiror of Claude Monet. |
Theodore Robinson,
Blossoms at Giverny
© Terra Foundation for the Arts |
John Henry Twatchman
From April 1st to July 16th, 2000
"paintor and impressionist"
Evocation of the history of impressionist engraving thru the works of this
artist who travelled in Europe between 1880 and 1899. |
Road near Honfleur,
John Henry Twachtman
© Terra Foundation for the Arts |
Robert Capa
From July 20th, 1999 to October 31st, 1999
"Photographies"
This exhibition of one hundred photographs by Robert Capa, 'the best war
photograph in the world' is a real retrospective of Capa's work.
This exhibition is organised by the Aperture Foundation and the
International Center of Photography. |
Robert Capa |
Roxy Paine
From June 23, 1998 to November 1, 1998
"Artificial Fields and Painting Machine"
Through works such as his automatic painting machine, or artificial fields
of poppies and mushrooms so like the real thing, the young New-York
artist Roxy Paine invites us to reflect on nature and artistic creativity. |
Crédit photo
© Roxy Paine
Psilocybe Cubensis Field |
Graciela Iturbide
From April 1, 1998 to June 14, 1998
"Images of the Spirit"
Through her striking, poetic images of Mexican cultures and landscapes, Graciela
Iturbide identifies dreamlike moments that express the marvelous as it can
be found in the everyday. |
Crédit photo
© Graciela Iturbide
Angelito mexicano |
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