Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Watch part 2 here: youtube.com/live/e1w5S1Ttk-U?feature=share
This symposium brings together leading international scholars to explore French Impressionists Édouard Manet and Berthe Morisot’s friendship, creative dialogue, and mutual influence. Through new perspectives, the program considers how Manet and Morisot’s artistic exchange helped shape the course of modern art.
Schedule
Session 1: 10:30 am–12:30 pm
Introduction and welcome remarks
Thomas P. Campbell, director and CEO of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
Emily A. Beeny, chief curator of the Legion of Honor and Barbara A. Wolfe Curator in Charge of European Paintings at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
Manet, Morisot, and the Art of Parisian Chic
Justine De Young, history of art associate professor, Fashion Institute of Technology
Four Seasons, Two Artists
Devi Ormond, associate conservator of paintings, J. Paul Getty Museum
Morisot’s Delicate Touch and the Virile Hand of Mary Cassatt
Mary Morton, curator and head of French paintings, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
Session 2: 1:30–4 pm
Berthe Morisot, the ‘Mesdames Manet,’ and the Memory of Manet
Nancy Locke, art history professor, Pennsylvania State University
Manet and Morisot, Degas and Cassatt: Working Together, Collaboration or Control?
Ann Hoenigswald, former conservator of paintings, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
Morisot’s Images (of Images)
Harmon Siegel, junior fellow, Harvard Society of Fellows, Harvard University
“If only you could always speak for me!” Mallarmé and the Importance of Friendship in Morisot’s Impressionism
Claire Moran, independent scholar, United Kingdom
About the exhibition
This is the first major exhibition dedicated to the artistic exchange between French Impressionists Édouard Manet (1832–1883) and Berthe Morisot (1841–1895). Manet was the era’s great pioneer of modern painting, and Morisot, the only woman to exhibit under her own name in the original Impressionist group. Unfolding over a period of 15 years (1868–1883), this exhibition traces the evolution of a friendship between two groundbreaking artists. The story of their relationship has often been told through Manet’s early portraits of Morisot, with Morisot’s own work treated as an offshoot of Manet’s. Recent scholarship reveals that, by the final years of his life, Manet increasingly followed Morisot’s example — her choice of subjects and colors, and even her rapid, fluttering brushstrokes. Rich in new research, the exhibition recasts this celebrated artistic friendship — and, by extension, the story of modern art — in a fresh light.
Watch part 2 here: youtube.com/live/e1w5S1Ttk-U?feature=share
This symposium brings together leading international scholars to explore French Impressionists Édouard Manet and Berthe Morisot’s friendship, creative dialogue, and mutual influence. Through new perspectives, the program considers how Manet and Morisot’s artistic exchange helped shape the course of modern art.
Schedule
Session 1: 10:30 am–12:30 pm
Introduction and welcome remarks
Thomas P. Campbell, director and CEO of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
Emily A. Beeny, chief curator of the Legion of Honor and Barbara A. Wolfe Curator in Charge of European Paintings at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
Manet, Morisot, and the Art of Parisian Chic
Justine De Young, history of art associate professor, Fashion Institute of Technology
Four Seasons, Two Artists
Devi Ormond, associate conservator of paintings, J. Paul Getty Museum
Morisot’s Delicate Touch and the Virile Hand of Mary Cassatt
Mary Morton, curator and head of French paintings, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
Session 2: 1:30–4 pm
Berthe Morisot, the ‘Mesdames Manet,’ and the Memory of Manet
Nancy Locke, art history professor, Pennsylvania State University
Manet and Morisot, Degas and Cassatt: Working Together, Collaboration or Control?
Ann Hoenigswald, former conservator of paintings, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
Morisot’s Images (of Images)
Harmon Siegel, junior fellow, Harvard Society of Fellows, Harvard University
“If only you could always speak for me!” Mallarmé and the Importance of Friendship in Morisot’s Impressionism
Claire Moran, independent scholar, United Kingdom
About the exhibition
This is the first major exhibition dedicated to the artistic exchange between French Impressionists Édouard Manet (1832–1883) and Berthe Morisot (1841–1895). Manet was the era’s great pioneer of modern painting, and Morisot, the only woman to exhibit under her own name in the original Impressionist group. Unfolding over a period of 15 years (1868–1883), this exhibition traces the evolution of a friendship between two groundbreaking artists. The story of their relationship has often been told through Manet’s early portraits of Morisot, with Morisot’s own work treated as an offshoot of Manet’s. Recent scholarship reveals that, by the final years of his life, Manet increasingly followed Morisot’s example — her choice of subjects and colors, and even her rapid, fluttering brushstrokes. Rich in new research, the exhibition recasts this celebrated artistic friendship — and, by extension, the story of modern art — in a fresh light.
