J.J. Tissot
Prints from the Gotlieb Collection
Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
June 20 - October 20, 1996
The Art Gallery of Ontario presents a selection of exquisite prints and paintings by French artist Jacques-Joseph Tissot (1836-1902). J.J. Tissot: Prints from the Gotlieb Collection celebrates the recent donation of the most comprehensive, privately owned Tissot print collection in the world. This exhibition marks the first time these works will be officially shown since they were donated to the Gallery by Allan Gotlieb, former ambassador to the United States, and his wife Sondra, in 1994-95.
Compiled over a 35-year period, the collection contains approximately 150 hand-touched trial proofs, multiple states, inked variations and unique impressions on vellum, Japanese and handmade papers, and is one of the most important gifts of prints ever made to a Canadian institution. The Gotliebs donated ninety percent of their world-renowned collection and ten percent was purchased by the Marvin Gelber Fund.
"Sondra and I are delighted that the exquisite works of an artist who has been an inspiration and joy to us for decades will be on view in this dramatic exhibition, and may now be studied by visitors to the AGO for years to come," said Allan Gotlieb.
J.J. Tissot: Prints from the Gotlieb Collection, which toured the U.S., Britain, Ireland and Holland in 1991 under the aegis of Art Services International, will be enhanced at the AGO by six paintings, four of which are on loan from the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Albright-Knox Gallery, the Beaverbrook Art Gallery and an anonymous lender. The exhibition will also be available for viewing on the Gallery's Web site at http://www.AGO.on.ca, continuing to make AGO exhibitions available to a wider audience.
"We are honoured that Allan and Sondra Gotlieb chose to give their marvellous collection to the Art Gallery of Ontario," said Gallery Director Maxwell Anderson, "and we are deeply grateful to both the Marvin Gelber Fund and The Tecolote Foundation for their assistance."
Born and trained in France, Jacques-Joseph Tissot fled to London in 1871 to escape political reprisal in the wake of the Franco-Prussian War. A friend of James McNeill Whistler, Edgar Degas and Edouard Manet, Tissot was one of the most successful artists of the late 19th century. Blending French realist and impressionist elements, he imbued Victorian subjects with continental sophistication. Tissot was also a leading figure in the etching revival of the 1860s, wielding his etching needle with a firm hand to create strong contrasts of black and white. He and his fellow artist friends were followers of the realist Gustave Courbet, finding inspiration in subjects from everyday life.
Tissot's prints, even more so than his sumptuous paintings, frequently incorporate the underlying psychodramas focusing on the social status of women and the dynamics of the relationships between the sexes. His enigmatic visual narratives invite the viewer's interpretation.
J.J. Tissot: Prints from the Gotlieb Collection will be displayed in two galleries, one designed to evoke the feeling of Tissot's London garden and the other to evoke London and Paris interiors of the 1870s and 1880s. The Victorian period is further suggested by the inclusion of 19th-century clothing and accessories, on loan from the Textile Department of the Royal Ontario Museum.
The exhibition is curated by Dr. Katharine Lochnan, the AGO's senior curator of prints and drawings.
"Tissot made a very significant contribution to the art of the 19th century," said Katharine Lochnan. "His work is not only very beautiful, it is a source of information about the visual appearance and social mores of Victorian London and the Paris of the Third Republic. It is especially appropriate that the AGO is mounting this stellar exhibition, since 30 years ago the AGO launched the Tissot revival with a pioneering exhibition. Those who like the work of Manet, Degas and Whistler will find much to admire in Tissot."
A version of this exhibition will tour to selected galleries in Ontario.
AGO - ART GALLERY OF ONTARIO
317 Dundas Street West, Toronto, Ontario
www.ago.on.ca
