The de Young and Legion of Honor are temporarily closed starting November 29

Buy Tickets

Visit the Legion of Honor

Exhibitions

Collections

Learn

Join + Give

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

January 12, 2008 – May 25, 2008
The first in a series of three exhibitions that focuses on legendary publishers, Kahnweiler, Editeur showcases twelve books published between 1909 and 1928 by Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler (1884–1979). Kahnweiler was a German expatriate who opened his first gallery in Paris in 1907. Inspired by Ambroise Vollard, he made a lifelong commitment to publish books illustrated by his favorite artists, including André Derain, Georges Braque, Pablo Picasso, Juan Gris, and others. He viewed his publications as promotional tools to introduce the young artists to new collectors of the avant-garde.
Location: 
Legion
Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881–1973) Mademoiselle Léonie dans une chaise longue, pl. 3 from the book, Saint Matorel by Max Jacob [Paris, Henry Kahnweiler, 1911], 1910

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.
Location: 
Legion

Sponsors

Highlights from the Israel Antiquities Authority: The Dead Sea Scrolls and 5,000 Years of Treasures is organized by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and the Israel Antiquities Authority from the collections of the National Treasures. Major exhibition support is provided by Bernard and Barbro Osher, the Koret Foundation, the Taube Philanthropies, American Express, the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund, and the Alexander M. & June L. Maisin Supporting Foundation of the Jewish Community Endowment Fund.
Table, Byzantine Period, late 6th-early 7th century AD, Caesarea Maritima. Gold, glass mosaic. Photo courtesy Israel Antiquities Authority

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.”
Location: 
Legion

Sponsors

Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer’s Life, 1990-2005 Organized by the Brooklyn Museum. Sponsored by American Express. The San Francisco presentation is made possible by RBC Dain Rauscher Wealth Management and GAP Inc. Additional support is support is provided by Jim and Dana Tananbaum, Maurice W. Gregg, Marie and George Hecksher, The John and Lisa Pritzker Family Fund, and Paul Sack and Shirley Davis.
L: Mikhail Baryshnikov and Rob Besserer, Cumberland Island, Georgia, 1990. R: Susan's Shell Collection, King Street Sunporch, New York, 1990. Photographs © Annie Leibovitz

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
Location: 
Legion
Odilon Redon (French, 1840-1916), "Antoine: Quel est le be but de tout cela...? Le Diable: Il n'y a pas de but!", plate XVIII in the book La Tentation de Sainte Antoine, 1896

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.
Location: 
Legion
Related Collection: 
European Painting

Sponsors

The exhibition is presented by Bank of the West Women Impressionists: Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassatt, Eva Gonzalès, Marie Bracquemond is an exhibition of the Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Major Patron Diane B. Wilsey Patrons Penny and James George Coulter Jeannik Méquet Littlefield. Sponsors Dr. Kathy Nicholson Hull and Mr. Bill Gisvold, Mary and Steven Read, Susan and James R. Swartz, and Christie's Additional support is provided by Chubb Personal Insurance, the Hurlbut-Johnson Charitable Trusts and the Ross Auxiliary of the Fine Arts Museums. This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

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.
Location: 
Legion

Sponsors

Presented by the San Francisco Auxiliary of the Fine Arts Museums The exhibition is organized by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco in partnership with the National Museums of Berlin. Major Patrons Ann and Tim Simon Sponsors Ray and Dagmar Dolby Opening Night is sponsored by Northern Trust. Additional support is provided by the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany, San Francisco, and Maurice W. Gregg, and through a bequest of Margrit Landesmann. Official Airline Lufthansa This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
Andrea Mantegna, The Virgin with the Sleeping Child, 1465/70. Gemäldegalerie, Berlin

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.
Location: 
Legion

Sponsors

Leonardo da Vinci: Drawings from the Biblioteca Reale in Turin is organized by the Birmingham Museum of Art and is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and Humanities. This exhibition was made possible by the Foundation for Italian Art and Culture. The San Francisco presentation is made possible by patrons Rosemary and Ed Baker, the Istituto Italiano di Cultura, the Brown Foundation and a bequest from Leonard E. Kingsley.

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.
Location: 
Legion

Sponsors

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.
Location: 
Legion

Sponsors

John Baldessari: A Print Retrospective from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation is organized by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation. Education programs presented in conjunction with this exhibition are generously underwritten by the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation. The exhibition complements the publication of The Prints of John Baldessari: A Catalogue Raisonne 1971–2007 by Sharon Coplan Hurowitz and Wendy Weitman (Hudson Hills Press LLC, October 2009), and the exhibition John Baldessari: Pure Beauty opening at the Tate Modern in October 2009.

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.
Location: 
Legion

Sponsors

John Baldessari: A Print Retrospective from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation is organized by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation. Education programs presented in conjunction with this exhibition are generously underwritten by the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation. The exhibition complements the publication of The Prints of John Baldessari: A Catalogue Raisonne 1971–2007 by Sharon Coplan Hurowitz and Wendy Weitman (Hudson Hills Press LLC, October 2009), and the exhibition John Baldessari: Pure Beauty opening at the Tate Modern in October 2009.

Pages

Subscribe to Front page feed