The Queen City will show off some of its art collection in Japan this year and next.
More than 80 key works of 19th and 20th century European painting and sculpture held by the Cincinnati Art Museum will visit Tokyo and three other cities starting in October.
While they're gone, the museum will renovate the second floor of its Frederick H. and Eleanora U. Alms Wing to update its mechanicals and roof, and to maximize space and natural light. The museum says the changes will free up 15% more space for exhibitions, allowing more of its European collection to be displayed. The gallery will close Sept. 1 for those renovations.
Cincinnati Art Museum (CAM) Curator Peter Bell said the traveling exhibition will feature some heavy hitters.
"Some of the highlights are our great impressionist paintings by Monet, by Renoir, the iconic Van Gogh from the last months of his life that is one of our visitors' favorite works," Bell said, "but then going on into the Twentieth Century with extraordinary works by Pablo Picasso" and others.
The works will visit Tokyo, Toyama, Nagoya and Osaka before returning when the gallery reopens late next year. Bell said it's a unique opportunity to showcase Cincinnati as a destination for arts while fostering cultural exchange.
"Thanks to how rich and deep this area of our collections are, we can essentially use this exhibition to tell a history of European art through our own collections," he said.
Lovers of European art won't be deprived here at home, of course. The Art Museum's galleries of European art from the 14th to 18th centuries will still be open, and a selection of other European works from the 19th century will be on display in the Museum's Gallery 123.
The Japanese exhibitions of CAM's European collections are organized by Tokyo's Fuji Television Network and will run as follows:
- Ueno Royal Museum, Tokyo: October 10, 2026–January 10, 2027
- Toyama Prefectural Museum of Art & Design, Toyama: January 23–April 11, 2027
- Nagoya City Art Museum, Nagoya: April 23–July 4, 2027
- Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts, Osaka: July 17–September 26, 2027
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