Marie Laurencin: Sapphic Paris

Exhibit runs October 22 – Jan 24

Beginning in the early 20th century, French artist Marie Laurencin (1883–1956) created a unique pictorial world that placed women at the center of modern art. With a highly original painting style that defied categorization, she moved seamlessly between the male-dominated cubist avant-garde, lesbian literary and artistic circles, and the realms of fashion, ballet, and decorative arts.

On view in the Roberts Gallery at the Barnes Foundation from October 22, 2023 to January 21, 2024, Marie Laurencin: Sapphic Paris examines Laurencin’s career, from her self-portraits to her collaborative decorative projects; from her early cubist paintings to her signature work—feminine and discreetly queer—that defined 1920s Paris. Presenting more than 50 works by Laurencin, it examines how her visualization of a “Sapphic modernity” subtly but radically challenges existing narratives of modern European art.