Alfred Sisley (1839-1899): Impressionist Master at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Connecticut showcases a rich array of Sisley’s works from private collections and major museums.
After a recent visit to the Peabody Museum at Yale, I developed a curiosity to explore museums in Fairfield County. I’ve always seen the sign for the Bruce Museum on the Merritt Parkway, but have never visited. Once I visited their website and learned of the Sisley exhibit, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.
My parents joined me for the afternoon to visit the Bruce Museum and we couldn’t have been more pleased with our experience*—we couldn’t believe that we never stopped by sooner!
Here’s a look at some fun facts about the Sisley exhibit:
Alfred Sisley (1839-1899): Impressionist Master includes 50 pieces from museums and private collections. It’s been over 20 years since the United States has seen a retrospective of the Impressionist artist. Viewers can witness the artist’s creative progression from his early years through the maturity.
Sisley produced roughly 900 oil paintings, 100 pastels and a number of drawings throughout his life. With that in mind, the Bruce Museum achieved an extraordinary feat to make the exhibit possible.
It took 6 years to put the exhibit together. That’s a lot of phone calls and emails.
Shipping costs alone were an estimated $800,000. One of the security guards kindly explained the shipping process for the paintings—as you could imagine, it’s intense. Each painting requires its own courrier to accompany it. Even if one museum is loaning two pieces, each painting still needs to go through its own process. When all of the paintings arrived at the Bruce Museum, they are stored in a temperature-controlled vault, then thoroughly inspected.
The Bruce Museum is the only venue for the Sisley exhibit in North America.
The final opportunity to see the comprehensive exhibit of Sisley’s paintings at the Bruce Museum is Sunday, May 21. If you can’t make it, check out the image sheet provided by the Bruce Museum press office.
Hôtel de Caumont Centre d’Art in Aix-en-Provence, France will host the exhibition in Fall 2017. Designated a historical monument in France and owned by Culturespaces, the Hôtel de Caumont is one of the most beautiful private mansions dating from the 18th century in Aix-en-Provence. The mansion was recently restored and has been home to an art and cultural center since May 2015.
For more information on Alfred Sisley (1839-1899): Impressionist Master, view the press release and visit the Bruce Museum website.
*The Bruce Museum does have other exhibits on view, including Street Smart: Photographs of New York City, 1945-1980 and Last Days of Pangea: In the Footsteps of Dinosaurs.
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