Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Renoir Drawings

October 17, 2025 through February 8, 2026

While the paintings of Auguste Renoir (1841–1919) have become icons of Impressionism, his drawings, watercolors, and pastels are far less widely known. In fact, drawing remained central to his artistic practice even as his interests and ambitions changed over the course of a long career. This exhibition explores the ways in which Renoir used paper to test ideas, plan compositions, and interpret both landscape and the human figure.

Thematic sections will cover the full span of the artist’s career, ranging from academic studies he made as a student, to on-the-spot impressions of contemporary urban and rural life, to finished, formal portraits, to intimate sketches of friends and family completed late in life. In-depth case studies of favored themes and preparatory work for landmark canvases will further illuminate Renoir’s practice of drawing.

Inspired by the major gift to the Morgan of a large-scale preparatory sketch for one of Renoir’s most significant paintings, The Great Bathers, this exhibition is the first in a century to explore the artist’s works on paper in depth. Organized by the Morgan Library Museum and the Musée d’Orsay, Paris, Renoir Drawings brings together nearly one hundred drawings, pastels, watercolors, prints, and a small selection of paintings, enabling visitors to engage with Renoir’s creative process while offering insights into his artistic methods over five decades.

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Organized by Colin B. Bailey, Katharine J. Rayner Director, and Sarah Lees, Research Associate.

Renoir Drawings is organized by the Morgan Library & Museum and the Musée d'Orsay.

The exhibition is made possible by lead funding from the Jerome L. Greene Foundation.

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Generous support is provided by Denise Littlefield Sobel; an anonymous donor, in memory of Melvin R. Seiden; Hubert and Mireille Goldschmidt; and the Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation. Additional support is provided by the Christian Humann Foundation; the Arthur F. and Alice E. Adams Charitable Foundation; the Robert Lehman Foundation; the Wolfgang Ratjen Stiftung, Liechtenstein; the Lucy Ricciardi Family Exhibition Fund; Christie’s; and Robert Dance. The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. It is a program of the Morgan Drawing Institute.

Auguste Renoir (French, 1841–1919)
Portrait of a Girl (Elisabeth Maître), 1879
Pastel on Ingres paper
The ALBERTINA Museum, Vienna – The Batliner Collection | Image: The ALBERTINA Museum, Vienna


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Selected Images

Auguste Renoir (French, 1841–1919) 
Portrait of a Girl (Elisabeth Maître), 1879 
Pastel on Ingres paper 
The ALBERTINA Museum, Vienna – The Batliner Collection | Image: The ALBERTINA Museum, Vienna

Study of the Borghese Mars, ca. 1862–63 
Chalk on paper 
Private collection, Paris

Boating Couple, 1880–81 
Pastel on paper 
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Given in memory of Governor Alvan T. Fuller by the Fuller Foundation, 61.393 
Photograph © 2025 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Young Woman with a Muff, ca. 1880 
Red, black, and white chalk on paper 
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929, 29.100.195

The Descent from the Summit: Jean Martin Steadies Hélène, the Banker’s Daughter (Illustration for Edmond Renoir’s “L’Étiquette”), 1883 
Black chalk on paper 
The Art Institute of Chicago, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. B. E. Bensinger, 1969.870R. 
The Art Institute of Chicago / Art Resource, NY

Motherhood, 1885 
Red and white chalk on paper mounted to canvas 
Colección Pérez Simón, Mexico 
Photography © Arturo Piera

The Lovers, ca. 1885 
Red and white chalk on paper mounted to canvas 
Collection of Hélène Bailly, Paris

Madeleine Adam, 1887 
Pastel and graphite on paper 
Collection of Diane B. Wilsey

Child with a Cat or Julie Manet, 1887 
Oil on canvas 
Musée d’Orsay, Paris, RF 1999 13 
Musée d'Orsay, dist. GrandPalaisRmn. 
Photography by Patrice Schmidt

Dancers (Bougival) or Dance in the Country, 1883 
Oil on canvas 
Musée d’Orsay, Paris, RF 1979-64 
Musée d'Orsay, dist. GrandPalaisRmn. 
Photography by Patrice Schmidt

Study for “Dance in the Country,” 1883 
Brush and brown, blue, and black wash over black chalk or graphite on paper 
Yale University Art Gallery, Bequest of Edith Malvina K. Wetmore, 1966.80.25.

Dance in the Country, 1883 
Pen and brush and gray ink on paper 
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, 1995, 1995.47.65

The Great Bathers, 1886–87 
Oil on canvas 
Philadelphia Museum of Art. The Mr. and Mrs. Carroll S. Tyson, Jr., Collection, 1963, 1963- 116-13

Study for “The Great Bathers,” ca. 1886–87 
Red and white chalk, with smudging and blending, on paper mounted to canvas 
The Morgan Library & Museum, Bequest of Drue Heinz, 2018.71.

Splashing Figure (Study for “The Great Bathers”), ca. 1886–87 
Red, white, and black chalk, with stumping, and black Conté crayon on tracing paper mounted to canvas 
The Art Institute of Chicago, Bequest of Kate L. Brewster, 1949.514 
The Art Institute of Chicago / Art Resource, NY.

Sheet of Studies, ca. 1885–86 
Graphite, pen and black ink, and watercolor on paper 
Musée d’Orsay, Paris, RF 28657 
Musée d'Orsay, dist. GrandPalaisRmn. 
Photography by Tony Querrec

View of a Park, ca. 1885–90 
Watercolor with white opaque watercolor on paper 
Thaw Collection, The Morgan Library & Museum.

Landscape, Autumnal Effect, ca. 1885–86 
Watercolor 
Inscribed lower right: a Madame Clapisson Collection of David Lachenmann

Trees at the Edge of a Lake, ca. 1890–95 
Watercolor on paper 
Promised Gift to the Morgan Library & Museum from the Collection of Elizabeth and Jean-Marie Eveillard. 
Photography courtesy of The Morgan Library & Museum.

Pinning the Hat, 1890 
Pastel on paper, mounted to laminated cardboard 
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Gift of Henry W. and Marion H. Bloch, 2015.13.20 
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Gift of Henry W. and Marion H. Bloch, 2015.13.20 
Image courtesy of Nelson-Atkins Digital Production & Preservation, Joshua Ferdinand.

Gabrielle and Jean, ca. 1895–96 
Oil on canvas 
Musée de l’Orangerie, Paris, Jean Walter and Paul Guillaume Collection, RF 1960-18 
Musée de l'Orangerie, dist. GrandPalaisRmn. 
Photography by Sophie Crépy

Gabrielle and Jean, ca. 1895 
Black chalk on paper 
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, gift of Martin Fabiani, 1956; 7296. Photo NGC

Head of a Young Girl, ca. 1900 
Red chalk 
Philadelphia Museum of Art, made possible by the families of Helen Tyson Madeira and Charles R. Tyson; 2015-42-2

Child with an Apple or Gabrielle, Jean, and a Young Girl with an Apple, ca. 1895 
Pastel 
Collection of Leone Cettolin Dauberville Photo © Jean-Louis Losi, Paris

Auguste Rodin, 1914 
Red and white chalk 
Private collection, United Kingdom, courtesy Daniel Katz Gallery, London 
Photography by Prudence Cuming Associates, London.

Seated Woman Leaning on Her Elbow, ca. 1915–17 
Black chalk 
The Albertina Museum, Vienna; inv. 24330. 
Image: The ALBERTINA Museum, Vienna.

Seated Nude, ca. 1880 
Oil on canvas 
Musée Rodin, Paris; P.07334 
© Musée Rodin, photo Hervé Lewandowski

Seated Nude Seen from the Back, ca. 1885– 87 
Red and white chalk on paper mounted to board 
Collection of George Condo

Crouching Nude, ca. 1897 
Red chalk 
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; 5827. 
Photo NGC

Study for “The Judgment of Paris,” ca. 1908 
Black, red, and white chalk 
The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC; 1636, Acquired 1940.

Auguste Renoir (1841–1919) and Richard Guino (1890–1973) 
The Judgment of Paris, 1914 
Patinated plaster 
Musée d’Orsay, Paris; RF 2745 
Musée d'Orsay, dist. GrandPalaisRmn. 
Photography by René-Gabriel Ojéda