Exhibition Review: Ambroise Vollard, Patron of the Avant-Garde

In actuality, the full title of this exhibition is Cézanne to Picasso: Ambroise Vollard, Patron of the Avant-Garde. Both Cézanne and Picasso play large roles in the show (though perhaps not as large as that of the un-titular Gauguin), and their names are meant to motivate us all to get moving to this show. And go we should, for the name "Ambroise Vollard" alone.

A French art dealer and publisher, Vollard (1866-1939) almost single-handedly determined which artists we speak of today when considering the heady early years of Modernism. Though powerful, he did not wield his power capriciously, but was a patron in the best sense of the word. He promoted artists and leveraged his funds wisely. In the process, as our guest reviewer states, he rescued "...a number of avant-garde artists from potential future obscurity." One cannot help but admire the results when business acumen and an honest appreciation of art bear such splendid fruit.

Every work on view in Cézanne to Picasso: Ambroise Vollard, Patron of the Avant-Garde physically passed through Vollard's hands, and all are worth seeing in person during this traveling exhibition. Our reviewer (who has asked to remain anonymous, though I would dearly love to trumpet her name) deftly weaves us a tale of the Art World as it orbited around one man from the end of Impressionism, through the Fauves and Nabis, past Cubism and into the early days of WWII. Enjoy the review.

Image credit:

Paul Gauguin (French, 1848-1903)
Manao tupapau (Spirit of the
Dead Watching), 1892
Oil on burlap mounted on canvas
28 1/2 x 36 3/8 in. (72.4 x 92.4 cm)
A. Conger Goodyear Collection, 1965
1965:1
© Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York