The Barnes Foundation to Survey Scenes of French Life Through the Lens of Iconic Photographers, 1890–1950

Philadelphia — In its first-ever photography exhibition, the Barnes Foundation is presenting over 170 vintage photographs that capture the spirit of France in the late 19th- to mid-20th century, a period of rapid transformation in every aspect of daily life. Nearly a third of these prints have never before been exhibited. Live and Life Will Give You Pictures: Masterworks of French Photography, 1890–1950 features work by a range of photographers who experimented in their documentation of modern French life, including such masters as Berenice Abbott, Eugène Atget, Ilse Bing, Brassaï, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Edgar Degas, André Kertész, Jacques-Henri Lartigue, Dora Maar, and Man Ray. Titled after a remark by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Live and Life Will Give You Pictures will be on view in the Roberts Gallery from October 8, 2016, through January 9, 2017.

Live and Life Will Give You Pictures at the Barnes Foundation is sponsored by Comcast NBCUniversal; U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management; the Barnes Foundation Exhibition Fund; the Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz Exhibition Fund; The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation; the Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation; and the Rittenhouse Hotel.

In the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th, photographers and painters traded aesthetic ideas and were interested in many of the same features of contemporary experience, particularly as it touched Paris. Sometimes referred to as the “capital of modernity,” the city’s cultural fabric was radically transformed by industrialization, urbanization, and class stratification. Like other visual artists, progressive photographers responded to the spectacular aspects of developments that were shaping modern cities across the globe.

“This exhibition provides a fascinating counterpoint to the core holdings of the Barnes collection. The invention of photography in France produced a generation of innovative practitioners who were contemporaries of the impressionist, post-impressionist, and early modern artists embraced by Albert C. Barnes,” said Thom Collins, Executive Director and President of the Barnes Foundation. “By examining the shared social and historical context that produced these photographs along with many paintings from our collection, audiences can gain insight into the breadth of creative reactions to societal change at this time.”

Drawn from the private collection of Michael Mattis and Judy Hochberg, Live and Life Will Give You Pictures will be hung salon-style and organized thematically. Subjects include Paris and Environs, Street Life, Labor, Leisure, Commerce, Celebrity, Reportage, and Art for Art’s Sake.

Among the highlights are the earliest known print of Henri Cartier-Bresson’s Behind the Gare Saint-Lazare, Paris, a celebrated example of his ability to capture life in motion, which made his work synonymous with “the decisive moment.” André Kertész’s Chez Mondrian is the only known vintage matte-surface enlargement print of this iconic image. Man Ray’s Kiki de Montparnasse features the flamboyantly bohemian cabaret singer and actress who became May Ray’s lover soon after he arrived in Paris. Kiki de Montparnasse also modeled for Modigliani and Pascin, who are among the many artists represented in the Barnes collection who lived and worked in the Montparnasse section of Paris. Edgar Degas’s Stéphane Mallarmé and August Renoir also functions as a mirror-reflected self-portrait of this painter, who immersed himself in photography for a one-year period; the Barnes collection includes 11 works by Degas and 181 by Renoir.

Never-before exhibited pictures from the collection include Brassai’s The Riviera from 1936 and Jacques-Henri Lartigue’s Bob race with neighbor Louis Ferrand and cousin Jean Haguet, Château de Rouzat, Puy-de-dome from 1911. Man Ray’s Rayograph with Swan and Starfish, from 1928, is a unique photogram with a provenance that can be traced directly back to the artist.

Live and Life Will Give You Pictures was organized by the Barnes Foundation in conjunction with Art2Art Circulating Exhibitions.

Live and Life Will Give You Pictures: Masterworks of French Photography, 1890–1950 is sponsored by

Comcast NBCUniversal  
U.S. Trust 

The exhibition is also made possible by the generosity of individual contributors to the Barnes Foundation Exhibition Fund. Additional support is provided by the Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz Exhibition Fund, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, the Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation, and the Rittenhouse Hotel.

As part of the Art in our Communities® program, a display of16 photographs from the Bank of America Collection, which complement the works included in Live and Life Will Give You Pictures, will be on view on the Barnes Foundation’s Lower Level.

ABOUT THE BARNES FOUNDATION 

The Barnes Foundation was established by Albert C. Barnes in 1922 to “promote the advancement of education and the appreciation of the fine arts and horticulture.” The Barnes holds one of the world’s finest collections of impressionist, post-impressionist and early modern paintings, with extensive works by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Henri Rousseau, Amedeo Modigliani, Chaim Soutine, and Giorgio de Chirico; works by American masters Charles Demuth, William Glackens, Horace Pippin, and Maurice Prendergast; Old Master paintings; important examples of African sculpture; Native American ceramics, jewelry, and textiles; decorative arts and ironwork; and antiquities from the Mediterranean region and Asia. 

While most collections are grouped by chronology, style, or genre, art at the Barnes is arranged in ensembles structured according to light, line, color, and space—principles that Dr. Barnes called “the universal language of art.” The Foundation’s programs include First Fridays, young professionals nights, tours, tastings, and family programs, as well as Barnes–de Mazia Education Program courses and workshops. These programs advance the Foundation’s mission through progressive, experimental, and interdisciplinary teaching and learning. The Barnes Foundation is open Wednesday–Monday, and tickets can be purchased on-site, online, or by calling 215.278.7200. Ticket prices and current hours are listed on our website. 

The Barnes Arboretum in Merion contains more than 2,500 varieties of trees and woody plants, many of them rare. Founded in the 1880s by Joseph Lapsley Wilson and expanded under the direction of Laura Leggett Barnes, the living collections include 40 state champion trees, a Chinese fringe tree (Chionanthus retusus), a dove tree (Davidia involucrata), a monkey-puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana), and a coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens). Other important plant collections include lilacs, peonies, Stewartias, ferns, medicinal plants, hostas, and magnolias. The Horticulture Education Program has offered a comprehensive three-year certificate course in the botanical sciences, horticulture, garden aesthetics, and design since its establishment in 1940 by Mrs. Barnes. The arboretum also offers horticulture workshops and lectures and is open to the public Saturday–Sunday during the summer months. Tickets can be purchased on-site, online, or by calling 215.278.7200. Ticket prices and current hours are listed on our website. 

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FOR MORE INFORMATION 

Deirdre Maher, Director of Communications
215.278.7160, press@barnesfoundation.org

Chelsea Beroza, Resnicow and Associates
212.671.5160, cberoza@resnicow.com