Soutine and de Kooning: Conversations in Art

Join Barnes Foundation educator Tom Lo for a lively virtual presentation that explores the current exhibition Soutine and de Kooning: Conversations in Art. Organized by the Barnes and the Musées d’Orsay et de l’Orangerie, it explores the affinities between the work of Chaïm Soutine (1893–1943) and Willem de Kooning (1904–1997).

A group of nearly 45 works by these titans of 20th-century art illustrates how Soutine’s paintings, with their built-up surfaces and energetic brushwork, served the art of de Kooning, shaping his groundbreaking figurative and abstract works in the late 1940s and beyond.

Founder Albert Barnes played a decisive role in the career of Soutine, having purchased dozens of the artist’s works on a single trip to Paris in 1922. A significant turning point in de Kooning’s work—evident in his celebrated series of paintings of women in the 1950s—coincided with the Museum of Modern Art’s Soutine retrospective in 1950 and de Kooning’s visit to the Barnes Foundation in 1952. The exhibition creates a visual dialogue between the highly individual universes of these two important figures.

World Art History Certificate elective: Earn 1/2 credit*

Patron Information

• If you register multiple individuals, you will be asked to supply individual names and email addresses so they can receive a Zoom link email. Please note that if there is a change in program schedule or a cancellation, we will notify you via email, and it will be your responsibility to notify other registrants in your group.
• Unless otherwise noted, registration for streaming programs typically closes two hours prior to the start time on the date of the program.
• Once registered, patrons should receive an automatic email confirmation from CustomerService@SmithsonianAssociates.org.
• Separate Zoom link information will be emailed closer to the date of the program. If you do not receive your Zoom link information 24 hours prior to the start of the program, please email Customer Service for assistance.
• View Common FAQs about our Streaming Programs on Zoom.

*Enrolled participants in the World Art History Certificate Program receive 1/2 elective credit. Not yet enrolled? Learn about the program, its benefits, and how to register here.