Dulwich Picture Gallery holds one of the world's major collections of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century paintings. The exhibition, which heralded the Gallery's bicentenary in 2011, reintroduced American audiences to this institution's collection through an exceptional group of works, which were shown exclusively at the Frick.
The signature masterpieces, many of which had not been on view in the United States in recent years, and, in some cases, never in New York City, are: Rembrandt van Rijn's A Girl at a Window, 1645; Sir Anthony Van Dyck's Samson and Delilah, c. 1619–20; Thomas Gainsborough's Elizabeth and Mary Linley — The Linley Sisters, 1771–72; Sir Peter Lely's Nymphs by a Fountain, c. 1650; Canaletto's Old Walton Bridge, 1754; Gerrit Dou's A Woman Playing a Clavichord, c. 1665; Antoine Watteau's Les Plaisirs du Bal, c. 1717; Bartolomé Esteban Murillo's The Flower Girl — Spring, 1665–70; and Nicolas Poussin's The Nurture of Jupiter, c. 1636–37.
The exhibition, in the Frick's Oval Room and Garden Court, was co-organized by Colin B. Bailey, Associate Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator at the Frick, and Xavier F. Salomon, Arturo and Holly Melosi Chief Curator at Dulwich. A fully illustrated catalogue, written by Dr. Salomon, features an essay on the origins of the collection at Dulwich as well as comprehensive entries on the nine works.
Principal funding for the exhibition was provided by Christie's and Melvin R. Seiden.
Additional support was generously provided by John and Constance Birkelund, Mr. and Mrs. Walter A. Eberstadt, Fiduciary Trust Company International, Barbara G. Fleischman, Francis Finlay, and Hester Diamond.
The accompanying catalogue was made possible by Jon and Barbara Landau.
This exhibition was supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn (1606–69), Girl at a Window, 1645. Oil on canvas, 81.6 x 66 cm © The Trustees of Dulwich Picture Gallery