I am seeing Red up close and personal at MoMA.

For many years after Henri Matisse’s creation of his groundbreaking painting, The Red Studio (1911), depicting the artist’s work space in the Parisian suburb of Issy-les-Moulineaux, the innovative work was met with bafflement or indifference.

Today it is known as a pivotal work of modern art and a landmark in the centuries-long tradition of studio painting.

The Museum of Modern Art reunite The Red Studio painting with the surviving six paintings from Matisse’s studio period along with three sculptures and one ceramic.

An array of other significant pieces are also on display which have only recently been rediscovered.

The Red Studio’s history is fraught with frustration.

The painting whose red background was considered radical for its time, was rejected by Matisse’s usually very supportive patron, Sergei Ivanovich Shchukin who commissioned it.

The international showing of the painting was not successful.

The painting remained in Matisse’s possession for 12 years out of public view, until it found an improbable first home in a chic London nightclub in the late 1920s and ’30s.

When the painting arrived in New York in the mid-1940s, it finally found an audience of art critics, curators, and artists who responded enthusiastically  to its revolutionary approach to color and space.

It was eventually acquired by MoMA.

Take the tour:

Matisse’s artwork is happiness inducing. The exhibit is definitely worth a visit.

Additionally, there is also a lovely cafeteria on the second floor that serves reasonably priced, delicious food offering great service.

Matisse: The Red Studio Museum of Modern Art 11 West 53rd Street New York City. Matisse exhibit on through September 10th, 2022. Purchase timed tickets in advance.