de Young Museum

Highlights from the Israel Antiquities Authority: The Dead Sea Scrolls and 5,000 Years of Treasures

February 16, 2008 - August 10, 2008

This exhibition includes rotating examples of the rare and precious Dead Sea Scroll fragments in addition to artifacts spanning over 5000 years, from the Chalcolithic Age (4,000 BC) to the Fatimid Period (11th century AD). The Dead Sea Scrolls are one of the greatest archaeological discoveries in history. Uncovered by Bedouin herders and excavated by archaeologists in caves along the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, fragments of the scrolls were pieced together to form more than 800 documents, many of them Biblical and Apocryphal manuscripts. All of the treasures on view are on loan from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), and most have never been seen outside of Israel. Located in the Legion’s Gallery 1, this small-scale exhibition is the first in a series, and provides an introduction to future joint exhibitions with the IAA.Read more »

Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer’s Life, 1990–2005

March 1, 2008 - May 28, 2008

For decades, Annie Leibovitz has artistically captured the icons of popular culture with her award-winning photography. Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer’s Life, 1990–2005 looks at 200 of these photos as well as those she has taken of her family and close friends, and thus views a full “photographer’s life.” As Leibovitz says: “I don’t have two lives. This is one life, and the personal pictures and the assignment work are all part of it.” Included in this exhibition are portraits of a pregnant Demi Moore, Nelson Mandela in Soweto, and George W. Bush in the White House; searing photojournalism from the siege of Sarajevo; haunting landscapes from the American West and Jordan; and personal photos documenting the birth of her three daughters and other scenes of private family life.

Vollard, Editeur: Illustrated Books Published by the Legendary French Art Dealer

May 31, 2008 - September 28, 2008

Vollard, Editeur is the second in a series of exhibitions that focus on legendary publishers who were primarily art dealers. Ambroise Vollard (1865-1939) opened his first art gallery in Paris in 1893 and by 1895 was publishing individual prints and portfolios by the artists he represented. His publications include Parallèlement, featuring poetry by Paul Verlaine and delicate lithograph illustrations by Pierre Bonnard and Gustave Flaubert's La tentation de Saint Antoine, with illustrations by Odlion Redon

Women Impressionists: Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassatt, Eva Gonzalès, Marie Bracquemond

June 21, 2008 - September 21, 2008

At the time Impressionism was born, female artists were starting to come to the forefront of the art world. Women Impressionists breaks new ground by looking at the work and contributions of four female Impressionists, shown together for the first time in the United States. Many of the works deal with images of women—women at home, women with family, and women at leisure—in addition to other themes typical of Impressionism.

The State Museums of Berlin and the Legacy of James Simon

October 18, 2008 - January 18, 2009

This exhibition honors the cultural legacy of James Simon, perhaps the most important patron Berlin has ever known. Over 100 works, borrowed from nine separate museums, spanning from the 3rd millennium BC to the 18th century AD, grace the special exhibition galleries at the Legion of Honor from October 18, 2008, to January 18, 2009. Highlights include the Egyptian, New Kingdom bust Queen Tiy, a lion relief that once lined the Processional Way in ancient Babylon, Andrea Mantegna’s The Virgin with the Sleeping Child, and a 19th-century woodblock print by the great Ukiyo-e master Utagawa Kuniyoshi titled The Priest Nichiren in the Snow on Sado Island.

Leonardo da Vinci: Drawings from the Biblioteca Reale in Turin

November 15, 2008 - January 8, 2009

This is the first U.S. exhibition of one of the most significant collections of drawings by Leonardo da Vinci. The drawings from the Biblioteca Reale in Turin detail the extensive range of Leonardo’s interests, including pointed observations, fantastical explorations, anatomical studies, and working drawings such as the Study for the Angel (1485) in the painting Madonna of the Rocks. Dating from about 1480 to 1510, the works traverse the arc of Leonardo’s career.

Artistic Luxury: Fabergé, Tiffany, Lalique

February 7, 2009 - May 31, 2009

Artistic Luxury: Fabergé, Tiffany, Lalique is the first comparative study of the work of the three greatest jewelry and decorative arts designers at the turn of the 20th century: Peter Carl Fabergé, Louis Comfort Tiffany, and René Lalique. Their rivalry found its stage at the 1900 World's Fair in Paris—the only exposition where all three showed simultaneously and where the work of each was prominently displayed. Some of their most elaborate designs for the Paris World's Fair are reunited for the first time in a gallery recreating the ambiance of this opulent international exposition. Looking critically at the development, design, and marketing of each firm, this exhibition explores how these designers responded to the demand for luxury goods in the years leading up to World War I.

Waking Dreams: Max Klinger and the Symbolist Print

February 28, 2009 - September 6, 2009

Drawn from the collection of the Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts, Waking Dreams highlights the dream-like etchings of Max Klinger (1857–1920), the German Symbolist artist best known for his enigmatic portfolio Paraphrases About the Finding of a Glove (1881). In addition to his activities as a painter and sculptor, Klinger was one of the most imaginative graphic artists of the late 19th century. He was a technical virtuoso who had the ability to literally transcribe his innermost visions, the daydreams, fantasies and nightmares of his highly creative and profoundly romantic soul. Waking Dreams presents Klinger’s graphic oeuvre alongside visionary etchings, lithographs and woodcuts by his precursors and contemporaries.Read more »

John Baldessari: A Print Retrospective from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation

July 11, 2009 - November 8, 2009

John Baldessari began making prints in the mid-1970s and has continued to produce editions through the years with publishers such as Brooke Alexander Editions, Cirrus Editions, Gemini G.E.L., and Crown Point Press. This retrospective of prints is organized by the Fine Arts Museums from the Portland, Oregon-based collection of Jordan D. Schnitzer, which has among its vast print holdings a complete archive of Baldessari’s printed work.

Paris sans fin: Alberto Giacometti’s Paris

The Logan Gallery of Illustrated Books

March 27, 2010 - September 5, 2010

Best known for his achievements in sculpture and painting, Alberto Giacometti (1901–1966) was also an accomplished printmaker. In 1957 he began an epic series of 150 lithographs of his beloved Paris, where he had lived since 1922. The lithographs were intended for a deluxe artist’s book Paris sans fin (Paris Forever) that would be published by Tériade, one of the great innovators of the artist book in the modern era.

Read more »