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Rick Lowe, Fire #4: This Time Athens, 2023, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC © Rick Lowe Studio

Opening this Week

Revolutions
Art from the Hirshhorn Collection, 1860–1960

March 22, 2024–April 20, 2025
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC
hirshhorn.si.edu

Revolutions is a major survey of 270 artworks by 126 artists from the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden’s permanent collection. Celebrating the museum’s fiftieth anniversary, the exhibition aims to capture the shifting cultural landscapes of a century defined by new currents in science and philosophy and ever-increasing mechanization. Shown alongside these historic works are contributions from nineteen contemporary artists whose practices demonstrate how many revolutionary ideas from a hundred years ago remain critical today. Work by Francis Bacon, Amoako Boafo, Alexander Calder, Willem de Kooning, Helen FrankenthalerRick LoweSally Mann, Man Ray, Henry MoorePablo PicassoNathaniel Mary Quinn, and Cy Twombly is included.

Rick Lowe, Fire #4: This Time Athens, 2023, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC © Rick Lowe Studio

Installation view, El eco de Picasso, Museo Picasso Málaga, Spain, October 2, 2023–March 31, 2024. Artwork, left to right: © Rebecca Warren, © Richard Prince. Photo: Pablo Asenjo, courtesy Museo Picasso Málaga

On View

El eco de Picasso

Through March 31, 2024
Museo Picasso Málaga, Spain
museopicassomalaga.org

Organized as part of Picasso Celebration 1973–2023, a series of international exhibitions and events commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of Pablo Picasso’s death, The Echo of Picasso focuses on his influence on twentieth-century art. The exhibition places Picasso’s practice in dialogue with work by more than fifty artists, including Francis Bacon, Georg Baselitz, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Willem de Kooning, Thomas Houseago, Ewa Juszkiewicz, Richard Prince, Nathaniel Mary Quinn, Cy Twombly, Tom Wesselmann, and Franz West.

Installation view, El eco de Picasso, Museo Picasso Málaga, Spain, October 2, 2023–March 31, 2024. Artwork, left to right: © Rebecca Warren, © Richard Prince. Photo: Pablo Asenjo, courtesy Museo Picasso Málaga

Jeff Wall, A Sudden Gust of Wind (after Hokusai), 1993, Tate Modern, London © Jeff Wall

On View

Capturing the Moment

Through April 28, 2024
Tate Modern, London
www.tate.org.uk

Capturing the Moment explores the relationship between photography and painting through iconic artworks from the modern era. The exhibition examines how the two distinct mediums have shaped each other and how artists have blurred the boundaries to capture moments in time. Work by Francis Bacon, Georg Baselitz, John Currin, Andreas Gursky, Pablo Picasso, Jeff Wall, and Andy Warhol is included.

Jeff Wall, A Sudden Gust of Wind (after Hokusai), 1993, Tate Modern, London © Jeff Wall

Franz West, Paravents, 2010, Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt am Main, Germany © Archiv Franz West, © Estate Franz West. Photo: Wolfgang Günzel

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Paraventi
Folding Screens from the 17th to 21st Centuries

October 26, 2023–February 22, 2024
Fondazione Prada, Milan
www.fondazioneprada.org

This exhibition investigates the histories and semantics of folding screens by tracing trajectories of cross-pollination between the East and the West, processes of hybridization between different art forms and functions, collaborations between designers and artists, and the emergence of new works. Paraventi presents more than seventy folding screens as well as a selection of contemporary projects, commissioned specifically for this show, by more than fifteen international artists. Work by Francis Bacon, Man Ray, Pablo PicassoJean Prouvé, Ed RuschaCy Twombly, and Franz West is included.

Franz West, Paravents, 2010, Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt am Main, Germany © Archiv Franz West, © Estate Franz West. Photo: Wolfgang Günzel

Albert Oehlen, Untitled, 1990 © Albert Oehlen

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Beautiful, Vivid, Self-contained

April 21–July 21, 2023
Hill Art Foundation, New York
hillartfoundation.org

Beautiful, Vivid, Self-contained is an exhibition curated by David Salle that brings together paintings and sculptures by artists working across different eras, mediums, and geographies to explore the notion of affinity between works of art. Alongside a painting by Salle from 1988, work by Francis Bacon, Willem de Kooning, Mark Grotjahn, Brice Marden, Albert Oehlen, Pablo Picasso, Cy Twombly, and Christopher Wool is included.

Albert Oehlen, Untitled, 1990 © Albert Oehlen

Installation view, Jubiläumsausstellung—Special Guest Duane Hanson, Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel, Switzerland, October 30, 2022–January 8, 2023. Artwork, front to back: © 2022 Estate of Duane Hanson/Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; © Estate of Roy Lichtenstein

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Jubiläumsausstellung—Special Guest Duane Hanson

October 30, 2022–January 8, 2023
Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel
www.fondationbeyeler.ch

This exhibition, whose title translates to Anniversary Exhibition—Special Guest Duane Hanson, features more than one hundred works from the foundation’s collection, from modern to contemporary art, to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the institution. Several hyperrealist sculptures by Duane Hanson enrich the presentation, opening up surprising perspectives on the exhibited artworks, architecture, staff, and visitors. Work by Francis Bacon, Georg Baselitz, Alberto Giacometti, Anselm Kiefer, Roy Lichtenstein, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, and Rachel Whiteread is included.

Installation view, Jubiläumsausstellung—Special Guest Duane Hanson, Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel, Switzerland, October 30, 2022–January 8, 2023. Artwork, front to back: © 2022 Estate of Duane Hanson/Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; © Estate of Roy Lichtenstein

Francis Bacon, Study for a Portrait, 1967, installation view, Seattle Art Museum © The Estate of Francis Bacon. Photo: Jueqian Fang

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Frisson
The Richard E. Lang and Jane Lang Davis Collection

October 15, 2021–November 27, 2022
Seattle Art Museum
www.seattleartmuseum.org

This exhibition celebrates the Friday Foundation’s gift of nineteen artworks from the Lang Collection to the Seattle Art Museum in honor of Seattle collectors Richard E. Lang and Jane Lang Davis. Dating from 1945 to 1976, the paintings, drawings, and sculptures in Frisson represent mature works and pivotal moments of artistic development from some of the most influential American and European artists of the postwar period. Work by Francis Bacon, Willem de Kooning, Helen Frankenthaler, and Alberto Giacometti is included.  

Francis Bacon, Study for a Portrait, 1967, installation view, Seattle Art Museum © The Estate of Francis Bacon. Photo: Jueqian Fang

Installation view, Francis Bacon: Man and Beast, Royal Academy of Arts, London, January 29–April 17, 2022. Artwork © The Estate of Francis Bacon. All rights reserved. DACS 2022. Photo: © Royal Academy of Arts, London/David Parry

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Francis Bacon
Man and Beast

January 29–April 17, 2022
Royal Academy of Arts, London
www.royalacademy.org.uk

In Francis Bacon’s visceral paintings the boundary between human and animal is constantly blurred, reminding us that our primal instincts lie just below the surface. Focusing on the artist’s fascination with animals, the exhibition explores how this interest both shaped his approach to the human body and distorted it; how, caught at the most extreme moments of existence, his figures are barely recognizable as either human or beast. Spanning Bacon’s fifty-year career, highlights include some of his earliest works and his last-ever painting, presented in the exhibition alongside a trio of bullfight paintings that will be shown together for the first time. These raw expressions of anxiety and instinct—both animal and human—feel poignantly relevant today.

Installation view, Francis Bacon: Man and Beast, Royal Academy of Arts, London, January 29–April 17, 2022. Artwork © The Estate of Francis Bacon. All rights reserved. DACS 2022. Photo: © Royal Academy of Arts, London/David Parry

Installation view, Au rendez-vous des amis: Modernism in Dialogue with Contemporary Art from the Sammlung Goetz, Part 2, Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, August 8, 2021–January 16, 2022. Artwork, left to right: © Stand Douglas, © Tatiana Trouvé, © Egon Schiele. Photo: Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Haydar Koyupinar

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Au rendez-vous des amis
Modernism in Dialogue with Contemporary Art from the Sammlung Goetz, Part 2

August 6, 2021–January 16, 2022
Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich
www.pinakothek-der-moderne.de

This exhibition, which includes more than two hundred works, presents works from the Sammlung Goetz in the Pinakothek der Moderne in order to explore the diverse relationships between classical modernism and contemporary art, examining how avant-garde artists paved the way for a more liberal treatment of color, line, and perspective, and outlined groundbreaking ideas for a new social community. Work by Francis Bacon, Henry Moore, Pablo Picasso, and Tatiana Trouvé is included.

Installation view, Au rendez-vous des amis: Modernism in Dialogue with Contemporary Art from the Sammlung Goetz, Part 2, Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, August 8, 2021–January 16, 2022. Artwork, left to right: © Stand Douglas, © Tatiana Trouvé, © Egon Schiele. Photo: Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Haydar Koyupinar

Ewa Juszkiewicz, Untitled (After Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun), 2020 © Ewa Juszkiewicz

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Face à Arcimboldo

May 29–November 22, 2021
Centre Pompidou-Metz, France
www.centrepompidou-metz.fr

This exhibition, whose title translates to Arcimboldo Face to Face, invites visitors to explore the timeless vocabulary of the sixteenth-century painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo (c. 1527–1593). The show demonstrates how his work has influenced art history for more than four centuries through the work of 130 artists, including work by Francis Bacon, Glenn Brown, Alex Israel, Ewa Juszkiewicz, Roy Lichtenstein, Man Ray, Pablo Picasso, Auguste Rodin, and Ed Ruscha.

Ewa Juszkiewicz, Untitled (After Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun), 2020 © Ewa Juszkiewicz

Installation view, The Human Body, Hill Art Foundation, New York, April 29–June 26, 2021. Artwork, left to right: © Jenny Saville, © Richard Prince, © Ron Mueck, Anthony van Dyck, Peter Paul Rubens. Photo: Matthew Herrmann

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The Human Body

April 29–June 26, 2021
Hill Art Foundation, New York
hillartfoundation.org

This exhibition, curated from the Hill Collection by Karel Schampers, examines the human body through figurative work from the last five hundred years. The installation spans two floors and visitors are encouraged to view the works from different levels and vantage points, creating a dialogue across diverse periods and mediums. The foundation’s collection of Renaissance bronzes  is featured alongside works by artists such as Francis Bacon, Richard Prince, Jenny Saville, Rudolf Stingel, and Andy Warhol.

Installation view, The Human Body, Hill Art Foundation, New York, April 29–June 26, 2021. Artwork, left to right: © Jenny Saville, © Richard Prince, © Ron Mueck, Anthony van Dyck, Peter Paul Rubens. Photo: Matthew Herrmann

Francis Bacon, Study for Portrait, 1981 © The Estate of Francis Bacon/All rights reserved/ADAGP, Paris/DACS, London 2020/ARS, New York 

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Francis Bacon
Late Paintings

February 23–May 25, 2020
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
www.mfah.org

This exhibition presents more than forty paintings from Francis Bacon’s 1971 Grand Palais retrospective alongside his last works, made in 1992. The show, which traveled from the Centre Pompidou in Paris, aims to explore the unprecedented influence of literature on his work. Significant new loans have been added to the Houston presentation.

Francis Bacon, Study for Portrait, 1981 © The Estate of Francis Bacon/All rights reserved/ADAGP, Paris/DACS, London 2020/ARS, New York 

Damien Hirst, Liberation, 2019, installation view, Kunsthalle Bremen, Germany © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2020

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Ikonen
Was wir Menschen anbeten

October 19, 2019–March 1, 2020
Kunsthalle Bremen, Germany
www.kunsthalle-bremen.de

This exhibition, whose title translates to Icons: Worship and Adoration, presents a single masterpiece in each of the museum’s sixty galleries complemented by everyday icons—from consumer brands to icons of popular culture, offering an interpretation of the traditional notion of the icon in art juxtaposed with the proliferation of icons in everyday life. The presentation examines various aspects of spirituality, devotion, and adoration. Work by Francis Bacon, Andreas Gursky, Damien Hirst, Yves Klein, Jeff Koons, Bruce Nauman, and Andy Warhol is included.

Damien Hirst, Liberation, 2019, installation view, Kunsthalle Bremen, Germany © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2020

Francis Bacon, Oedipus and the Sphinx after Ingres, 1983, Museu Coleção Berardo, Lisbon © The Estate of Francis Bacon/All rights reserved/ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2019. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates Ltd.

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Bacon en toutes lettres

September 11, 2019–January 20, 2020
Centre Pompidou, Paris
www.centrepompidou.fr

This exhibition presents paintings from Francis Bacon’s 1971 Grand Palais retrospective alongside his last works, made in 1992. The show aims to explore the unprecedented influence of literature on his work.

Francis Bacon, Oedipus and the Sphinx after Ingres, 1983, Museu Coleção Berardo, Lisbon © The Estate of Francis Bacon/All rights reserved/ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2019. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates Ltd.

Works from the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum’s collection in storage. Artwork, clockwise from top left: Jean Dubuffet, Martin Barré, and Wifredo Lam © 2020 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris; Willem de Kooning © 2020 The Willem de Kooning Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; David Hammons © David Hammons; Paul Wonner © Estate of Paul Wonner and William Theophilius Brown, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, California; Cecilia Vicuña © Cecilia Vicuña; Maria Helena Vieira da Silva © 2020 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris. Photo: David M. Heald

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Artistic License
Six Takes on the Guggenheim Collection

May 24, 2019–January 12, 2020
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
www.guggenheim.org

This exhibition celebrates the institution’s extensive twentieth-century holdings through the eyes of six contemporary artists, all of whom have contributed to shaping the museum’s history with their own pivotal solo shows: Cai Guo-Qiang, Paul Chan, Jenny Holzer, Julie Mehretu, Richard Prince, and Carrie Mae Weems. Through collection highlights and rarely seen works from the turn of the century to 1980, this presentation includes nearly three hundred paintings, sculptures, works on paper, and installations selected by the six artists that engage with the cultural discourse of their time. Work by Francis Bacon, Willem de Kooning, and Lawrence Weiner is included.

Works from the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum’s collection in storage. Artwork, clockwise from top left: Jean Dubuffet, Martin Barré, and Wifredo Lam © 2020 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris; Willem de Kooning © 2020 The Willem de Kooning Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; David Hammons © David Hammons; Paul Wonner © Estate of Paul Wonner and William Theophilius Brown, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, California; Cecilia Vicuña © Cecilia Vicuña; Maria Helena Vieira da Silva © 2020 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris. Photo: David M. Heald

Ellen Gallagher, Morphia, 2008–12 (detail) © Ellen Gallagher

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Francis Bacon and Ellen Gallagher

January 26–May 18, 2019
Hatton Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
hattongallery.org.uk

Francis Bacon’s piece Study for Portrait IV (1956–57), one of the most iconic works in the Hatton collection, is the catalyst for the exhibition Francis Bacon and Ellen Gallagher which sheds new light on each artists’ work. Specifically, the exhibition presents a dialogue between oil paintings by Bacon and Morphia, a series of works on paper by Ellen Gallagher.

Ellen Gallagher, Morphia, 2008–12 (detail) © Ellen Gallagher

Helen Frankenthaler, Star Gazing, 1989, collection of Helen Frankenthaler Foundation © 2019 Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, Inc./Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

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Peindre la nuit

October 13, 2018–April 15, 2019
Centre Pompidou-Metz, France
www.centrepompidou-metz.fr

This exhibition explores the night in modern and contemporary painting, music, literature, photography, and video. With a focus on the perception of night rather than its iconography, the exhibition intends to be a nocturnal experience. Work by Harold Ancart, Francis Bacon, Helen Frankenthaler, Roy Lichtenstein, Man Ray, Pablo Picasso, and Ed Ruscha is included. 

Helen Frankenthaler, Star Gazing, 1989, collection of Helen Frankenthaler Foundation © 2019 Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, Inc./Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Jenny Saville, Untitled (Stare Study III), 2005–06 © Jenny Saville

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Bacon, Freud, and the School of London Painters

October 9, 2018–January 13, 2019
Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest, Hungary
mng.hu

In the decades following World War II, Bacon, Freud, and their British contemporaries engaged with subjects that felt immediate and intensely personal. This exhibition retraces their artistic developments via works, including paintings and drawings, spanning seven decades. Despite the sheer diversity of approaches and techniques that embodied their practices, the members of this group were constantly renewing their individual appraisals of the artist’s personal position in the world, focusing on individuals, locations, and narratives close and dear to them. The exhibition was initially produced under the title Bacon, Freud, and the London Painters by ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum, Denmark. Work by Michael Andrews, Francis Bacon, Glenn Brown, Alberto Giacometti, and Jenny Saville is included.

Jenny Saville, Untitled (Stare Study III), 2005–06 © Jenny Saville

Installation view, Bacon Giacometti, Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel, April 29–September 2, 2018. Artwork by Francis Bacon © The Estate of Francis Bacon. All rights reserved/2018, ProLitteris, Zurich. Artwork by Alberto Giacometti © Succession Alberto Giacometti/2018, ProLitteris, Zurich. Photo: Mark Niedermann

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Bacon Giacometti

April 29–September 2, 2018
Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel
www.fondationbeyeler.ch

Alberto Giacometti and Francis Bacon were friends and rivals, and this exhibition explores their relationship. Although their respective artistic oeuvres differ greatly at first glance and appear autonomous, the exhibition reveals commonalities and amazing parallels between them.

Installation view, Bacon Giacometti, Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel, April 29–September 2, 2018. Artwork by Francis Bacon © The Estate of Francis Bacon. All rights reserved/2018, ProLitteris, Zurich. Artwork by Alberto Giacometti © Succession Alberto Giacometti/2018, ProLitteris, Zurich. Photo: Mark Niedermann

Jenny Saville, Reverse, 2003 © Jenny Saville

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All Too Human
Bacon, Freud, and a Century of Painting Life

February 28–August 27, 2018
Tate Britain, London
www.tate.org.uk

In the decades following World War II, Bacon, Freud, and their British contemporaries engaged with subjects that felt immediate and intensely personal. This exhibition retraces their artistic developments via works, including paintings and drawings, spanning seven decades. Despite the sheer diversity of approaches and techniques that embodied their practices, the members of this group were constantly renewing their individual appraisals of the artist’s personal position in the world, focusing on individuals, locations, and narratives close and dear to them. The exhibition was initially produced under the title Bacon, Freud, and the London Painters by ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum, Denmark. Work by Michael Andrews, Francis Bacon, and Jenny Saville is included.

Jenny Saville, Reverse, 2003 © Jenny Saville

John Currin, Honeymoon Nude, 1998, Tate, London © Joyn Currin    

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Nude
Art from the Tate Collection

March 24–June 24, 2018
Yokohama Museum of Art, Japan
yokohama.art.museum

Journeying through time, from the nineteenth century to the present, this exhibition brings together masterpieces by renowned artists including Francis Bacon, John Currin, Alberto Giacometti, Man Ray, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, and Cindy Sherman. More than one hundred artworks tell the story of the nude and trace artists’ captivation with the human form over the past two centuries. The exhibition has most recently traveled from the Seoul Olympic Museum of Art.

John Currin, Honeymoon Nude, 1998, Tate, London © Joyn Currin    

Jeff Koons, Rabbit, 1986 © Jeff Koons.Photo by Nathan Keay © MCA Chicago

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We Are Here

August 19, 2017–April 1, 2018
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago
mcachicago.org

In honor of the Museum of Contemporary Art’s fiftieth anniversary, the museum presents We Are Here, a three-part exhibition drawn from its collection. I Am You gathers works that question how we relate to and shape our environments; You Are Here examines how the role of the viewer has changed over time; and We Are Everywhere showcases artists who borrow from popular culture. Work by Richard Artschwager, Francis Bacon, Chris Burden, Ellen Gallagher, Andreas Gursky, Michael Heizer, Jasper Johns, Jeff Koons, Takashi Murakami, Bruce Nauman, Richard Serra, Cindy Sherman, Rudolf Stingel, Andy Warhol, and Franz West is included.

Jeff Koons, Rabbit, 1986 © Jeff Koons.
Photo by Nathan Keay © MCA Chicago

Francis Bacon, Three Figures and Portrait, 1975, Tate © Estate of Francis Bacon

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Bacon, Freud, and the London Painters

October 14, 2017–February 4, 2018
ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum, Denmark
en.aros.dk

In the decades following World War II, this group of artists engaged with subjects that felt immediate and intensely personal. This exhibition retraces their artistic developments via works, including paintings and drawings, spanning seven decades. Despite the sheer diversity of approaches and techniques that embodied their practices, the members of this group were constantly renewing their individual appraisals of the artist’s personal position in the world, focusing on individuals, locations, and narratives close and dear to them. Work by Michael Andrews and Francis Bacon is included.

Francis Bacon, Three Figures and Portrait, 1975, Tate © Estate of Francis Bacon

Pablo Picasso, Nude Woman in a Red Armchair, 1932, Tate © 2017 Estate of Pablo Picasso/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo © Tate, London 2017

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NUDE
Masterpieces from the Tate

August 11–December 25, 2017
Seoul Olympic Museum of Art, South Korea
www.britishcouncil.kr

This traveling exhibition brings together masterpieces by renowned artists including Francis Bacon, John Currin, Alberto Giacometti, Man Ray, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, and Cindy Sherman. Beautiful, sensual, and at times provocative, more than one hundred artworks tell the story of the nude and trace artists’ captivation with the human form over the past two centuries.

Pablo Picasso, Nude Woman in a Red Armchair, 1932, Tate © 2017 Estate of Pablo Picasso/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo © Tate, London 2017