Dixon exhibit 'Monet to Matisse' lends personal touch to art

Henri Matisse's "The Palace, Belle Isle" is among works in a bequest by Margaret and Hugo Dixon.

The exhibition "Monet to Matisse," at Dixon Gallery and Gardens, not only reintroduces the museum's permanent collection but also sets it in the context and history of collecting and provenance. The show, which will be displayed through April 4, was organized by the Dixon's assistant curator, Julie Pierotti.

Dixon Gallery and Gardens was founded in 1976 after a bequest from Margaret and Hugo Dixon, both of whom died in 1974, left to a foundation their estate and house at Park and Cherry and their collection of primarily French Impressionist paintings. In the 36 intervening years, the collection has grown by purchase and donation, and the museum has moved away from its original emphasis on French Impressionist art or related work of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Edgar Degas' "Dancer Adjusting Her Shoe" was acquired by Hugo Dixon after some careful consideration of price but eventually was deemed worthy of the investment.

Henri Matisse's "The Palace, Belle Isle" is among works in a bequest by Margaret and Hugo Dixon.

While pieces from the permanent collection have been seen frequently in various exhibitions over three decades, and often hang in the Dixon's original home, other works rarely emerge from the museum's vault. "This exhibition gave us a chance to really look at everything," said Pierotti, "and to reassess the collection."

For "Monet to Matisse," accompanying wall labels are more informative than is usually the case in exhibitions, and many of the works feature an additional label, "A Second Life," that goes into more detail about the history of the piece, its different owners and how it came to the Dixon.

The exhibition's revelation, at least for people familiar with the history of the museum, occurs in the Plough Gallery, the first that visitors enter. Gathered here are all the works that came from the Dixon bequest, all the paintings that they collected and displayed in their house and that became the seed from which the museum grew.

Hugo Dixon, a cotton man, began his collecting with English artists. His first purchase, which occurred in 1944, was "Venice" by William James (1730-1780), a follower of Italian artist Canaletto. Dixon paid M. Knoedler & Co., a well-known art dealer in New York, $950 for the oil on canvas work. We know the price because Dixon "kept good archives of his correspondence," said Pierotti, "and we were able to incorporate some of his letters into the exhibition."

Seeing Dixon's handwritten letters lends some of these oft-viewed works an extra dimension of reality. Degas' masterful charcoal and pastel on paper sketch "Dancer Adjusting Her Shoe" is no less amazing in its casual authority and assurance than it ever was, but knowing how Hugo Dixon hesitated before buying it -- because of the price -- and the fact that he did purchase it tell us something about the collector's generally cautious personality and his love of the art he was collecting.

Dixon was persuaded to buy the Degas by John Rewald, the noted scholar and author of "The History of Impressionism," the standard text on the subject. Rewald's subtle influence guided the Dixons into the area of French Impressionism, but there's nothing subtle about his letter to Hugo Dixon about "Dancer Adjusting Her Shoe." Go ahead, he told Dixon, adding that the piece was "a work of major importance."

"Monet to Matisse" fills all the available spaces at the museum. In the small Crump Gallery, Pierotti organized a group of paintings and drawings that revolve around artist Berthe Morisot and her circle of family and friends. The smaller Orgill Gallery holds pieces by Jean-Louis Forain and other works on paper that, as Pierotti said, "don't see much wall time."

In the Brinkley Gallery, visitors will see the group of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings that came to the Dixon in 1996 as a partial gift from the Ritchie family of Palo Duro, Texas; the Dixon raised $6 million to cover the rest of the cost. The combination donation and purchase includes works by Cezanne, Monet, Seurat, Pissarro, Renoir, Vuillard and Sargent.

Finally, the large Wilmot Gallery holds a variety of paintings that were acquired by the Dixon through private or corporate donations.

The museum staff examined the works in the permanent collection before the exhibition, checking for needed repairs or conservation. In some cases, changes to the format were made.

"Thank goodness the burnt orange liner on the Braque is gone," Pierotti said.

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"Monet to Matisse" Family Day

Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Dixon Gallery and Gardens, 4339 Park Ave. Art activities, games, live music, hands-on crafts for all ages, demonstrations, storytellers and scavenger hunts. Free admission. Call 761-5250.

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