Monet to Matisse: Defying Tradition Media Portal

Monet to Matisse: Defying Tradition is an Australian-exclusive exhibition of masterworks from the renowned Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio, USA. Opening at the Art Gallery of South Australia on 11 July 2026, this exhibition will launch AGSA’s Winter Art Series, a new initiative that brings major international exhibitions exclusively to Adelaide each winter from 2026 to 2029.

Featuring works never-before-seen in Australia, Monet to Matisse explores a transformative period in art history through iconic works by leading European and American artists of the 19th and 20th centuries, revealing how the styles they invented - from Impressionism to Cubism, Surrealism to Abstract Expressionism - defied tradition and transformed modern art. Select works from AGSA’s own collection will enrich and complement the exhibition, highlighting the international significance of AGSA’s collection.

Adam Levine, Edward Drummond and Florence Scott Libbey President, Director, and CEO of the Toledo Museum of Art, said, ‘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.'

Toledo Museum of Art

Established in 1901, the Toledo Museum of Art is a beloved cultural institution in Toledo, Ohio, USA, and a global leader in the museum field. Renowned for its commitment to integrating art into everyday life, the museum combines world‑class collections with innovative education programs to inspire audiences. Its renowned collection features over 30,000 works, ranging from antiquity to contemporary art.

Artists

Featured artists include Josef Albers, Max Beckmann, Ilya Bolotowsky, Pierre Bonnard, Georges Braque, Jules Breton, Gustave Caillebotte, Paul Cézanne, William Merritt Chase, Ralston Crawford, Giorgio de Chirico, Edgar Degas, Robert Delaunay, Sonia Delaunay, Richard Diebenkorn, Victoria Dubourg, Lyonel Feininger, Helen Frankenthaler, Frederick Frary Fursman, Paul Gauguin, Gertrude Glass Greene, Grace Hartigan, Robert Henri, George Hitchcock, Hans Hofmann, Paul Klee, Marie Laurencin, Fernand Léger, Morris Louis, Stanton Macdonald-Wright, Édouard Manet, Henri Matisse, Jean-François Millet, Amedeo Modigliani, László Moholy-Nagy, Piet Mondrian, Claude Monet, Giorgio Morandi, Berthe Morisot, Ben Nicholson, Irene Rice Pereira, Pablo Picasso, Camille Pissarro, Maurice Brazil Prendergast, Robert Rauschenberg, Ad Reinhardt, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Charles Sheeler, Paul Signac, Yves Tanguy, Vincent van Gogh, Luther Emerson van Gorder, Edouard Vuillard, Everett Longley Warner and James Abbott McNeill Whistler.

Key Dates

Exhibition Season | 11 Jul – 8 Nov 2026
Media Preview | 9 Jul 2026, 11am

Social Media

@agsa.adelaide #monettomatisse #agsaadelaide

Media Contacts

Elisabeth Alexander, Head of Communications, Art Gallery of South Australia
Alexander.Elisabeth@artgallery.sa.gov.au | +61 8 7085 1618 | +61 404 934 779

Kate Kyratsous, Publicist, Art Gallery of South Australia
Kyratsous.Kate@artgallery.sa.gov.au | +61 8 7085 1604

Holly Ashworth, Communications Officer, Art Gallery of South Australia
Ashworth.Holly@artgallery.sa.gov.au | +61 8 8348 0402

This exhibition is organised by the Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio, and presented with the support of Principal Partner, the Government of South Australia, through the South Australian Tourism Commission.