Marie-Antoinette, the Austrian-born queen of Louis XVI of France, was given the Petit Trianon, a small château secluded in the park at Versailles, upon her accession in 1774. An icon of French neoclassicism, it exemplifies the perfection of 18th-century French architecture through its delicate balance of form and proportion. Its interiors were furnished to the queen's order with pieces of the utmost elegance, restraint, and beauty. This exhibition gives a visual history of the Petit Trianon through 88 pieces of the finest furniture, paintings, and sculpture from this château. It is complemented by watercolors, prints, and drawings of the house and its innovative landscaping, including the picturesque Hameau, a rustic village where the queen and her favorites could relax away from the prying eyes of the court at Versailles. This is the only venue of the exhibition, which is organized by the Musée National of the Château de Versailles.

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 »

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

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.