Inside a Rare Matisse Exhibition with Eleanor Acquavella

When Acquavella Galleries first mounted a Matisse exhibition in 1973, the lines stretched down the block. Now, more than fifty years later, the gallery has done it again — and the wait was worth it.

Leslie sits down with Eleanor Acquavella, Director at Acquavella Galleries, to go inside Matisse: The Pursuit of Harmony — a once-in-a-generation exhibition on view free to the public at their East 79th Street townhouse through May 22nd. Over 50 works borrowed from private collections, many unseen publicly, brought together by a family that has spent six decades knowing exactly where the best Matisse works live.

In this conversation, Leslie and Eleanor explore how Matisse used sculpture to unlock his painting, his rivalry with Picasso, the odalisque and what it reveals about his relationship to color and form, and why top-quality Matisse works almost never come up for sale. They also discuss why and how the world is having a "Matisse moment" right now — with major shows opening simultaneously in Paris, Chicago, San Francisco, and Baltimore — and why New York has not seen anything like this in years.

Whether you're an art lover, a curious visitor to New York before May 22nd, or someone who wants to understand how the private art world really works — this one is for you.

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00:00:03 Introduction

00:01:30 About the Exhibition

00:03:51 The 1973 Show and 50 Years Later

00:06:08 Borrowing from Private Collectors

00:08:25 How Sculpture Unlocked Matisse's Painting

00:10:40 The Odalisque Explained

00:15:31 Matisse vs. Picasso

00:29:54 The Global Matisse Moment

00:32:17 The Matisse Art Market

00:37:04 What's Next for Acquavella

00:41:54 Outro

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