1994
Attendance reaches a record 430,000 for the exhibition Impressionist Masterpieces from the Barnes Collection
Not surprisingly, the Kimbell’s exhibition of Impressionist works from the extraordinary collection assembled by Dr. Albert C. Barnes was one of the museum’s most successful shows ever. The Kimbell was part of an international tour of the collection that was on display outside of its permanent home in the suburbs of Philadelphia; in fact, since the death of Dr. Barnes in 1951, none of the works had been reproduced in color or lent until the advent of this exhibition. The once-in-a-lifetime show—called “just about perfect” by Michael Kimmelman of the New York Times—featured 20 works by Cézanne, 16 by Renoir, 16 by Matisse, seven by Picasso, and significant paintings by Van Gogh, Gauguin, Seurat, Monet, Manet, Braque, Modigliani, and others.