Marie Cuttoli: The Modern Thread from Miró to Man Ray

This spring, the Barnes will present Marie Cuttoli: The Modern Thread from Miró to Man Ray in the Roberts Gallery.

In 1930s Paris, leading modern artists experimented with tapestry design, thanks to pioneering entrepreneur Marie Cuttoli (1879–1973). Cuttoli lived between Algeria and Paris and collected work by artists such as Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, and Georges Braque. This exhibition traces her career, from her early work in fashion and interiors to her revival of the French tapestry industry. She commissioned the most celebrated artists of her time—Rouault, Léger, Picasso, Braque, Le Corbusier, Man Ray, and Miró, among others—to create designs for the historic tapestry workshops in Aubusson. By uniting these important paintings and drawings with the resulting tapestry, this exhibition shows their true purpose, revealing modernism’s profound dialogue with the decorative arts.

When a selection of these tapestries toured the US in the 1930s and ’40s, Cuttoli enjoyed the support of Dr. Albert Barnes, who was one of her most vocal advocates and patrons. Fittingly, the Barnes Foundation is the first major American institution to celebrate her visionary approach to art and business.

Exhibition Organization

This exhibition is organized by the Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia, and curated by Cindy Kang, Associate Curator at the Barnes.

Sponsors
Marie Cuttoli: The Modern Thread from Miró to Man Ray is sponsored by:

Morgan Stanley
Comcast NBCUniversal

Additional Grants provided by:

Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne
The Coby Foundation, LTD.

Generous support comes from the Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz Exhibition Fund, the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, and Aileen and Brian Roberts.

Critical support for all exhibitions comes from contributors to the Barnes Foundation Exhibition Fund:

Joan Carter and John Aglialoro, Julia and David Fleischner, Leigh and John Middleton, Jeanette and Joe Neubauer

John Alchin and Hal Marryatt, Christine and Michael Angelakis, Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz, Lois and Julian Brodsky, N. Judith Broudy, Laura and Bill Buck, Elaine W. Camarda and A. Morris Williams, Jr., Gloria and John Drosdick, Eugene and Michelle Dubay, Christine and George Henisee, Lisa D. Kabnick and John H. McFadden, Marguerite Lenfest, Maribeth and Steven Lerner, Victoria McNeil Le Vine, Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation, Hilarie and Mitchell Morgan, Kay and Michael Park, The Rittenhouse Hotel, Adele K. Schaeffer, Katie and Tony Schaeffer, Dr. and Mrs. Eugene E. Stark, Joan F. Thalheimer, van Beuren Charitable Foundation, Kirsten White, Anonymous.

With additional funding from other individual donors.

The exhibition catalogue is made possible with generous support provided by the Lois and Julian Brodsky Publications Fund.