Exhibitions

BOUGUEREAU & AMERICA

Memphis Brooks Museum of Art / 1934 Poplar Ave. June 22, 2019 - September 22, 2019

William-Adolphe Bouguereau

Comprising around 40 works by the French academic painter William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905), this exhibition explores the artist’s remarkable popularity in the United States. Bouguereau’s modern and highly polished interpretations of classical subjects — including heroic men, sensuous goddesses and playful cupids — as well as his intimate and idealized portrayals of peasant life, were avidly sought by American collectors. This exhibition focuses on Bouguereau’s paintings in US collections and how they reflect the tastes, beliefs, and ambitions of America’s elite.