Painters’ Paintings: Artists as Collectors at London’s National Gallery

The National Gallery in London presents Painters’ Paintings, an exhibition curated by Anne Robbins that explores the art-collecting habits of famous artists. The show runs until September 4, 2016, in the Sainsbury Wing. It begins with Lucian Freud, who owned Camille Corot’s L’Italienne, displayed above his fireplace for a decade; the painting was bequeathed to the National Gallery upon Freud’s death in 2011. The exhibition traces acquisitions by Henri Matisse, Edgar Degas, Frederic Leighton, George Frederic Watts, Joshua Reynolds, Thomas Lawrence, and Anthony van Dyck. It highlights how Matisse and Picasso often bartered works, and how Degas, Matisse, and Freud were influenced by Paul Cézanne’s nudes. Degas also bought works by Paul Gauguin and Alfred Sisley to support them financially. Sir Thomas Lawrence amassed 4,300 old master drawings, including a monumental cartoon by Agostino Carracci for the Farnese Gallery, now on view. The exhibition juxtaposes artists’ own works with pieces they collected, revealing their influences and patronage. The Sainsbury Wing was funded by the Sainsbury brothers in 1985, who also donated artworks. The museum is directed by Gabriele Finaldi.