New Photography Exhibition Complements Manet & Morisot Experience at the Cleveland Museum of Art

CLEVELAND (May 5, 2026)—Opening this weekend at the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA), France in the Time of Manet and Morisot offers visitors a vivid view of the people, places, and defining moments that shaped 19th-century France. With approximately 50 photographs from CMA’s rich holdings, visitors will get a firsthand glimpse of the rapid industrial growth and political upheaval in this tumultuous, yet fertile, period of time.  

This CMA-organized companion exhibition was designed to complement Manet & Morisot, the first ever major exhibition dedicated to the artistic exchange between Édouard Manet often referred to as the father of modern painting, and Berthe Morisot, the only woman among the founding members of the Impressionist movement. While Manet & Morisot travels nationally, this companion exhibition is uniquely presented at CMA, offering visitors an experience available only in Cleveland. Visitors to the CMA will have the opportunity to experience both exhibitions now through July 5, 2026. 

“It’s truly a pleasure to share our rich holdings of 19th-century French photography alongside Manet & Morisot,” said Barbara Tannenbaum, curator of photography and chair of prints, drawings, and photographs. “In the mid-1800s, when the two painters were living in Paris, it became the largest city in continental Europe and the arts capital of the world. However, France also endured war and the loss of territory; experienced modernization and the rise of industry; and saw a shift from rural to urban living. These events coincided with the birth of a new art form—photography—which was used to record these social, political, and cultural changes.” 

In the 19th century, masters of the newfound photography medium, such as Charles Marville and Édouard Baldus, were commissioned by Emperor Napoleon III, the Louvre museum, and the railroads to document both historic monuments and the construction of new architectural and engineering marvels throughout the country.  

This era also saw the rise of celebrity portraiture and of the public as patron. Actresses such as Sarah Bernhardt and popular authors Charles Baudelaire, Alexandre Dumas, and others sat for photographers such as Nadar, André Adolphe-Eugene Disderi, and Étienne Carjat. The resulting portraits were printed—and sold—in large quantities to meet a soaring public demand for portraits of the luminaries of the time. When the rising urban middle class sought to have their own likenesses recorded, they flocked to the same studios.  

France in the Time of Manet and Morisot, a free exhibition, will be on view in the Mark Schwartz and Bettina Katz Photography Galleries from May 10, 2026, through August 23, 2026. Manet & Morisot, a ticketed exhibition, is on view in the Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation Gallery through July 5, 2026. 

“Together, these exhibitions offer a compelling portrait of a society in transition—one that visitors can now experience firsthand at the Cleveland Museum of Art,” said Tannenbaum. 

Complementary Exhibition  

Manet & Morisot 

Through Sunday, July 5, 2026 

The Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation Gallery |Special Exhibition Gallery 

Ticket Required 

Manet & Morisot is the first ever major exhibition dedicated to the artistic exchange between Édouard Manet, often referred to as the father of modern painting, and Berthe Morisot, the only woman among the founding members of the Impressionist movement. Unfolding over a period of roughly 15 years, between 1868 and 1883, theirs was perhaps the closest relationship between any two members of the Impressionist circle. As friends and colleagues—by turns collaborative and competitive—they collected one another’s work. Morisot posed for some of Manet’s most compelling portraits, several of which will be on view in the first gallery of the exhibition. When she married Manet’s younger brother, their professional connection deepened into a familial bond. Thirty-six paintings and seven drawings and prints borrowed from museums and private collections in the United States and Europe reveal the evolution of a singular friendship between two groundbreaking artists.  

Visitors will see beach and garden scenes made en plein air (out-of-doors) that demonstrate how Manet borrowed individual motifs and compositional ideas directly from Morisot. Portraits of fashionable Parisian women of the 1880s by the two artists show their different perspectives; Manet’s paintings were inspired by admiration and erotic interest while Morisot’s were informed by lived experience. The exhibition closes with a self-portrait by Morisot painted when she was in her mid-40s, revealing her perception of herself as a professional artist.  

This exhibition is organized by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco in collaboration with the Cleveland Museum of Art. 

Presented by Bank of America. 

Generous support is provided by Anne T. and Donald F. Palmer. Additional support is provided by Carl M. Jenks. 

This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. 

Manet & Morisot Tours 

Daily, 11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. from Tuesday, March 31, 2026, until Friday, July 3, 2026 

Ames Family Atrium 

Ticket Required 

Join a guided tour of Manet & Morisot and discover the fascinating bond between Édouard Manet and Berthe Morisot. Our docents illuminate the complex relationship of these two groundbreaking artists, colleagues, family members, and friends. Featuring 36 paintings and seven drawings and prints loaned from major US and European collections, the exhibition reveals the evolution of their singular artistic friendship. 

Tours meet their docent at the information desk in the Ames Family Atrium.  

To schedule private tours for adult groups of 10 or more, please contact grouptours@clevelandart.org or call 216-707-2752. 

There are no tours on Saturday, July 4—the museum is closed in observance of Independence Day. 

France in the Time of Manet and Morisot is made possible with support from Anne T. and Donald F. Palmer. 

All exhibitions at the Cleveland Museum of Art are underwritten by the CMA Fund for Exhibitions. Principal annual support is provided by Michael Frank and the late Pat Snyder, the Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation, the John and Jeanette Walton Exhibition Fund, and Margaret and Loyal Wilson. Major annual support is provided by the late Dick Blum and Harriet Warm and the Frankino-Dodero Family Fund for Exhibitions Endowment. Generous annual support is provided by two anonymous donors, Gini and Randy Barbato, Cynthia and Dale Brogan, Dr. Ben and Julia Brouhard, Brenda and Marshall Brown, Gail and Bill Calfee, the Leigh H. Carter family, Dr. William A. Chilcote Jr. and Dr. Barbara S. Kaplan, Mary and Jim Conway, Joseph and Susan Corsaro, Ron and Cheryl Davis, Richard and Dian Disantis, the Jeffery Wallace Ellis Trust in memory of Lloyd H. Ellis Jr., Leigh and Andy Fabens, Florence Kahane Goodman, Martha H. and Steven M. Hale, Janice Hammond and Edward Hemmelgarn, Linda Harper, Robin Heiser, the late Marta and the late Donald M. Jack Jr., the estate of Walter and Jean Kalberer, Robert M. Kaye, Jane and Doug Kern, the late Mrs. Nancy M. Lavelle, Eva and Rudolf Linnebach, William S. Lipscomb, Bill and Joyce Litzler, the Roy Minoff Family Fund, Lu Anne and the late Carl Morrison, Mrs. Peta and the late Dr. Roland Moskowitz, Jeffrey Mostade and Eric Nilson and Varun Shetty, Sarah Nash, Courtney and Michael Novak, Tim O’Brien and Breck Platner, Dr. Nicholas and Anne Ogan, William J. and Katherine T. O’Neill, Henry Ott-Hansen, the Pickering Foundation, Frank and Fran Porter, Christine Fae Powell, Peter and Julie Raskind, Michael and Cindy Resch, Marguerite and James Rigby, in memory of Dee Schafer, Betty T. and David M. Schneider, Elizabeth and Tim Sheeler, Saundra K. Stemen, Paula and Eugene Stevens, the Womens Council of the Cleveland Museum of Art, and Claudia Woods and David Osage.  

About the Cleveland Museum of Art 

The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is renowned for the quality and breadth of its collection, which includes more than 66,500 artworks and spans 6,000 years of achievement in the arts. The museum is a significant international forum for exhibitions, scholarship, and performing arts and is a leader in digital innovation. One of the leading encyclopedic art museums in the United States, the CMA is recognized for its award-winning open access program—which provides free digital access to images and information about works in the museum’s collection—and free of charge to all. The museum is located in the University Circle neighborhood with two satellite locations on Cleveland’s west side: the Community Arts Center and Transformer Station. 

The museum is supported in part by residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture and made possible in part by the Ohio Arts Council (OAC), which receives support from the State of Ohio and the National Endowment for the Arts. The OAC is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically. For more information about the museum and its holdings, programs, and events, call 888-CMA-0033 or visit cma.org.