Rousseau’s Secrets
October 19, 2025 – January 11, 2026
See the inventive works of Henri Rousseau in a new light.
Henri Rousseau. Scouts Attacked by a Tiger (detail), 1904. The Barnes Foundation, BF584. Public Domain.
Adults $30; seniors $28 (tickets good for 2 days); students $5; members free
About the Exhibition
In fall 2025, the Barnes—home to the world’s largest collection of works by the self-taught artist Henri Rousseau—will present Rousseau’s Secrets in the Roberts Gallery. This landmark exhibition brings together important paintings from collections around the world, showing how Rousseau painted with viewers in mind, changing his works and his story to suit their preferences.
Building on a comprehensive research study of the 18 works by Rousseau at the Barnes, the exhibition was developed in partnership with the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris, which houses the collection of the art dealer Paul Guillaume. Guillaume sold many Rousseau paintings to Dr. Albert Barnes but kept others for himself—this exhibition reunites these works for the first time in more than one hundred years.
Exhibition Organization
Rousseau’s Secrets is curated by Christopher Green, consulting curator, Professor Emeritus at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London, and Nancy Ireson, Deputy Director for Collections and Exhibitions & Gund Family Chief Curator at the Barnes.
Sponsors
Rousseau’s Secrets is sponsored by:
Key support is provided by the Family of Laura Buck, Marlene and Brian Dooner, Mindy and Thaddeus Fortin, Meghan and Anthony Fotopoulos, Amy Fox and Daniel Wheeler, Joan Garde, Deborah E. Glass, Margaret Hallenbeck, Margaret Harris and Phil Straus, Penelope P. Harris, James and Pam Hill, LAGOS, Judy and Leonard Lauder, Robert Lehman Foundation, Barbara A. Podell and Mark G. Singer, and other generous individuals.
Ongoing funding for exhibitions comes from the Christine and Michael Angelakis Exhibition Fund, the Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz Exhibition Fund, the Lois and Julian Brodsky Exhibition Fund, the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, the Christine and George Henisee Exhibition Fund, the Aileen and Brian Roberts Exhibition Fund, and the Tom and Margaret Lehr Whitford Exhibition Fund.
The exhibition publication is made possible with generous support provided by the Lois and Julian Brodsky Publications Fund.
In addition, funding for all exhibitions comes from contributors to the Barnes Foundation Exhibition Fund:
Joan Carter and John Aglialoro, Julia and David Fleischner, Victoria McNeil Le Vine, Leigh and John Middleton, Jeanette and Joe Neubauer
John Alchin and Hal Marryatt, Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz, Lois and Julian Brodsky, N. Judith Broudy, Elaine W. Camarda and A. Morris Williams, Jr., Eugene and Michelle Dubay, Penelope P. Harris, Jones & Wajahat Family, Lisa D. Kabnick and John H. McFadden, Victor F. Keen and Jeanne Ruddy, Marguerite Lenfest, Maribeth and Steven Lerner, Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation, Hilarie and Mitchell Morgan, The Park Family, Wendy and Mark Rayfield, Anne and Bruce Robinson, Adele K. Schaeffer, Katie and Tony Schaeffer, Dr. and Mrs. Eugene E. Stark, Joan F. Thalheimer, Bruce and Robbi Toll, van Beuren Charitable Foundation, Kirsten White, Randi Zemsky and Bob Lane, Anonymous.
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