A Taste For Modernism

A magnificent exhibition settles into the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco on September 15 and remains through December 30. The show is The William S. Paley Collection: A Taste for Modernism, organized by The Museum of Modern Art, New York. The legendary William Paley was the founder and leader of the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS). The son of Ukrainian immigrants, he became an avid art patron, and showcased his collection at parties in the luxurious 20-room apartment he shared with his beautiful wife Babe on Fifth Avenue in New York. The Paley collection focuses on the French School and School of Paris, from which 19th and early 20th century artists helped redefine modernism. Paley acquired his first art during a trip to Europe in 1933. The piece? Self Portrait in a Straw Hat by Paul Cezanne. Not a bad start. The particular selection on view at the de Young includes works by Cezanne, Gauguin, Picasso, Matisse, Degas Toulouse-Lautrec, Bonnard, Roualt, and Derain. (415/750-3600, www.deyoungmuseum.org)    DARLENE G. DAVIES

 

Photography Courtesy of The Museum of Modern Art, New York