Perth to host Monet exhibition: Arts Minister

13/12/00
Five years of negotiations have come to fruition for the Art Gallery of Western Australia, with the news Perth will become one of only two cities in the world to host the 'Monet and Japan' art exhibition.
From July 7 to September 16, 2001, more than 30 of Claude Monet's most brilliant and best-known paintings will be on display in WA for the first time.
The paintings, from some of the world's greatest collections, will be accompanied by an extensive selection of Japanese prints, paintings and screens. The works are valued at almost $1 billion.
The Art Gallery of Western Australia and the National Gallery, Canberra, are the only venues to host this exclusive tour, which also will be the largest Monet exhibition ever displayed in the Southern Hemisphere.
Making the announcement today, Arts Minister Mike Board said the exhibition had been included as part of the Best on Earth in Perth events calendar, to be officially unveiled tomorrow by Tourism Minister Norman Moore.
"Putting an exhibition of this calibre and incredible value together has involved five years of negotiation with lenders including The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Mus?e d'Orsay, Paris; The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; The Philadelphia Art Museum; The Cleveland Museum; The Nelson-Atkins Museum, Kansas City and Tokyo-Fuji Museum," Mr Board said.
"Claude Monet is arguably the world's most popular artist, however many West Australians have only seen his works through reproductions.
"Now Monet's famous and iconic views of flowering fields, haystacks, waterlilies, boulevards of Paris and the cliff walks of Normandy will be coming to Perth for a once in a lifetime experience accessible to all of the community.
"I have to commend the Art Gallery of Western Australia for its work with the National Gallery in securing this fabulous event, which also has been supported by the State Government through a $300,000 Lotteries Commission grant."
Art Gallery of Western Australia Director Alan Dodge said Monet and Japan represented one of the most significant visual art events ever seen in the State.
"The late nineteenth century in France witnessed a vogue for all things Japanese," Mr Dodge said.
"Ever since Japan was opened to the West in the mid-nineteenth century, the market was flooded with Japanese prints and Parisians flocked to Japanese displays at the Universal Expositions held in the 1860s and 70s.
"Monet was a collector of Japanese prints and used Japanese art as an inspiration in different ways at different times in his career. 'Monet and Japan' for the first time shows this influence that was to inspire so many of his major works and places his major paintings with important Japanese artworks to illustrate this connection."
More than a million people visited the recent 'Monet in the 20th Century' exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, which allowed for 24-hour viewing to accommodate the crowds.
When the exhibition travelled to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, people were turned away on sell-out days.
Mr Dodge said Monet's house at Giverny, hung with his collection of Ukiioy-e prints; and the garden, with its Japanese style arched bridge, waterlilies, irises and peonies, were common ingredients of the popular image of the artist.
"The fusion of French and Japanese art in the exhibition will vividly demonstrate the multiple aspects of Monet's relationship with Japanese art as it unfolded throughout his long career," he said.
Mr Board urged Western Australians to take the opportunity to view Monet and Japan.
"This will be a new and unique perspective on a world-renowned artist," he said.
"It is a grand coup for WA and will be an experience not to be missed."
Media contacts:
Minister's office - Tamatha Smith, 9222 9211
Art Gallery of WA, Audrey Foo 9492 6600