The Marie and Averell Harriman Collection

April 16-May 14, 1961

Overview: Heralded as the first in a new series of annual exhibitions featuring an important private collection, the show included 49 paintings and drawings and a sculpture (Degas' bronze Little Dancer Fourteen Years Old). Works on view were by 16 artists, from Jean Siméon Chardin to Giorgio de Chirico. Painters with whom the Harrimans were closely connected as patrons were André Derain, represented with 12 works, and Walt Kuhn, represented with 7 paintings. The collection had developed from the Marie Harriman Gallery on 57th Street in New York, which Mrs. Harriman established in 1930 and directed until 1942. Marie Harriman was a tastemaker who influenced collectors in the acquisition of important French impressionist and post-impressionist works.

Attendance: 47,757 (29 days)

Location: Main Floor, Galleries 68, 69, 69A, 70

Catalogue: Exhibition of the Marie and Averell Harriman Collection. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 1961.

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