The Brooklyn Museum is gearing up for a major art moment this fall, when it unveils “Cézanne to Modigliani: Gifts of Modern Art from the Pearlman Collection” from October 2, 2026, through April 18, 2027. The show brings more than 50 modern European masterpieces to town and marks the final full-collection tour for the storied Pearlman holdings.
What's on view
The exhibition gathers paintings, sculptures, and works on paper by a who’s who of modern European heavyweights, including Paul Cézanne, Amedeo Modigliani, Edgar Degas, Paul Gauguin, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Chaïm Soutine, and Vincent van Gogh, as reported by the Brooklyn Eagle. That coverage, filed as a special release from the museum, points to highlights such as Modigliani’s 1916 portrait of Jean Cocteau.
How the gift is divided
According to a press release from the Henry and Rose Pearlman Foundation shared via the Brooklyn Museum, the foundation announced on August 4, 2025, that it would divide its collection among three major institutions. Under the agreement, 29 works will enter the Brooklyn Museum’s permanent collection, 28 will go to MoMA, and six will head to LACMA, with the group traveling as an exhibition before settling into their new homes.
“We’re thrilled to welcome this extraordinary gift from the Pearlman Collection, the most significant addition to our European art holdings in nearly a century,” Brooklyn Museum Director Anne Pasternak said in the release.
Where it opens first
Before the works land in Brooklyn, the West Coast gets first crack. The selection premieres as “Village Square: Gifts of Modern Art from the Pearlman Collection” at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art from February 22 through July 19, 2026, according to LACMA. That run offers Los Angeles audiences an advance look at pieces that will soon be anchored in three of the country’s major museum collections.
A Brooklyn story
For Brooklyn, the exhibition is also a homecoming of sorts. Henry Pearlman, a Brooklyn native who began collecting in 1945, assembled the holdings over decades. The foundation reports that the family has kept the works on long-term loan at the Princeton University Art Museum since 1976, as outlined in its announcement posted on MoMA.
The Brooklyn Museum notes that the presentation is curated by Lisa Small and that entry will be included with general admission, a choice the museum frames as part of its push to keep the celebrated collection accessible to a broad local public.
.jpg){kind=link}