Organised as part of the International Exposition of 1937, by Raymond Escholier, curator at the Petit Palais as well as a journalist and art critic, the masters of Independent Art exhibition sought to promote the superiority of the contemporary French artistic school, extended to foreign artists “living or having lived in France for many years”.
Taking up the entire ground floor of the museum, the exhibition presented over 1500 works by around 100 artists, including Rodin, Bonnard, Bourdelle, Maillol, Matisse, Modigliani, Vuillard, Braque, Chagall, Derain, Dufy, Léger, Picasso, Van Dongen, and Vlaminck.
Resources available online:
Description of the archive materials held at the Petit Palais
Article by Gilles de la Tourette, assistant curator at the Petit Palais, "Les Maîtres de l'Art indépendant", published in the weekly newspaper Marianne, 16 June 1937: available to view online via Gallica (source: gallica.bnf.fr / BnF)
Article by Louis Vauxcelles, "L'art indépendant au Petit Palais", published in Le Monde Illustré, 19 June 1937
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| Poster | Invitation card | Catalogue cover |