This summer Connaught Brown will present a mixed group exhibition of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and Modern Masters including Raoul Dufy, Paul Signac, Henri Le Sidaner, Jean-Baptiste Armand Guillaumin, Edgar Degas, Camille Pissarro, Maurice de Vlaminck, Marc Chagall, Jean Dubuffet, Pablo Picasso, Henry Moore and Christo.

Beginning with the pleasure-filled works of Dufy and Signac, the exhibition will explore the exuberance of modern pastimes in the countryside and by the coast. Both artists shared a poetic connection to the sea and painted the dazzling effects of colour and light on the waters of French harbours. Into the tranquillity of the French pastoral scene, Pissarro celebrates the peasant’s natural place in the landscape as Le Sidaner captures the kaleidoscopic tones of the late afternoon sun across his garden. Other highlights of the show will be the riotously colourful ‘Le Champ de courses d'Ascot’ by Dufy and atmospheric ‘Une rue à Epinay sur Orge’ by Guillaumin.

The exhibition will also showcase pivotal works by trailblazing artists of the 20th century such as Picasso, Dubuffet and Christo that revolutionised the path of art historical tradition. Through his intimate study of the sculptor and model, Picasso questions artistic identity and the power of his young lover Marie-Thérèse Walter over the sensual aesthetic of his oeuvre. In the same way, the ground-breaking father of Art Brut, Dubuffet continued to satirize cultural pretensions in his playful collage ‘Promeneur en ville’.

In parallel to the realisation of Christo’s ‘The Floating Piers’ in Italy’s Lake Iseo, Connaught Brown will display a preparatory study for ‘The Umbrellas’ project. This astonishing installation saw 3,100 umbrellas opened across the hills of California and rice fields of Japan, and is celebrated as one of the couple’s most famous environmental pieces of art.