An Australian-exclusive exhibition of masterworks from the acclaimed Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio, United States, will open at the Art Gallery of South Australia in July 2026 as the debut exhibition in AGSA’s new Winter Art Series.
Featuring works never-before-seen in Australia, Monet to Matisse: Defying Tradition traces a ground-breaking period in art history through seminal works by the most influential European and American artists of the 19th and 20th centuries including Paul Cézanne, Edgar Degas, Helen Frankenthaler, Henri Matisse, Piet Mondrian, Claude Monet, Berthe Morisot, Pablo Picasso, Robert Rauschenberg, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Vincent van Gogh and James McNeill Whistler.
Featuring 57 paintings from the Toledo Museum of Art’s world-renowned collection, Monet to Matisse follows the development of modern art in Europe and the United States at the turn of the 20th century. These works tell the story of succeeding generations of painters and how the styles they invented – from Impressionism to Cubism, Surrealism to Abstract Expressionism – defied tradition and transformed modern art.
Monet to Matisse presents a rare opportunity for Australian audiences to experience landmark works by pre-eminent artists, from Impressionists such as Degas, Monet, Morisot and Renoir; to examples of the European and American avant-garde including Matisse, Mondrian, Picasso and Rauschenberg; through to bold abstract paintings by Josef Albers, Frankenthaler and Willem de Kooning.
Amongst these celebrated paintings from the Toledo Museum of Art will be a selection of paintings and works on paper from AGSA’s collection, including works by Manet, Matisse, Picasso and Whistler, and a remarkable drawing by Édouard Vuillard, highlighting the international significance of AGSA’s collection.
Presented in partnership with the South Australian Government through the South Australian Tourism Commission, AGSA’s Winter Art Series is a major new initiative that brings major international exhibitions exclusively to Adelaide during the winter seasons from 2026-29, celebrating Adelaide’s position as a vibrant cultural destination through exhibitions from world-renowned art collections and complemented by curated experiences and events.
“Monet to Matisse will reveal one of art history’s most transformative periods through a truly outstanding collection of 57 treasures from one of the United States’ finest art museums,” said AGSA Director, Jason Smith. “This important collaboration with the Toledo Museum of Art will see masterworks travel to Australia for the first time, on display exclusively at the Art Gallery of South Australia throughout winter 2026.”
“From van Gogh’s luminous haystacks to Monet’s iconic water lilies, visitors will encounter paintings by some of the world’s most influential artists – the innovators and trailblazers of their time whose work defied traditions and whose legacies continue to reverberate today,” said Smith.
“The Toledo Museum of Art is renowned for the exceptional quality of its collection. Never before have so many of the Museum’s masterworks travelled together, and we are proud to share them with audiences in Australia for the first time,” said Adam Levine, Edward Drummond and Florence Scott Libbey President, Director, and CEO of the Toledo Museum of Art.
Premier of South Australia, The Hon. Peter Malinauskas MP, said cultural tourism generates significant economic benefits and positive social impacts for South Australians. “Monet to Matisse is a real coup for South Australia, bringing iconic paintings by artists including Vincent van Gogh and Henri Matisse to Adelaide for the first time,” he said.
“The Art Gallery of South Australia has cemented itself as a major tourism destination and AGSA’s Winter Art Series will see blockbuster exhibitions exclusively in Adelaide over winter for the next four years, driving tourism visitation and delivering tangible economic growth to the state,” said Premier Malinauskas.
Monet to Matisse: Defying Tradition
Art Gallery of South Australia, North Terrace, Adelaide
Exhibition: 11 July – 8 November 2026
Entry fees apply
For more information, visit: www.agsa.sa.gov.au for details.
Images: Tansy Curtin, Acting Assistant Director, Artistic Programs, AGSA, and Jason Smith, Director, AGSA, with an image of Vincent van Gogh, Wheat Fields with Reaper, Auvers, 1890 – photo by Saul Steed | Claude Monet, born Giverny, France 1840, died Giverny, France 1926, Water Lilies, c.1922, oil on canvas, 200.7 x 213.4cm; Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey, Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio, United States of America | Robert Delaunay, born Paris, France 1885, died Montpellier, France 1941, The City of Paris, c.1911, oil on canvas, 119.4 x 172.7 cm; Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey, Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio, United States of America