Auckland Art Gallery Toi O Tāmaki Announces Major International Exhibition Of Modern Art

On loan from the Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio, the exhibition offers a sweeping survey of the visionary painters who transformed modern art.

Visitors can expect to be dazzled by the much-loved highlights of Toledo Museum of Art’s internationally-renowned collection, on display exclusively in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland from 7 June 2025. The collection includes 57 iconic works by 53 artists, such as Claude Monet, Edgar Degas and Vincent van Gogh, and premier examples by pioneering artists of the American and European avant-garde.

Tātaki Auckland Unlimited Director of Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Kirsten Lacy says the calibre of works and artists in this collection is exceptional and not to be missed.

“The exhibition includes works by legendary art figures, including Vincent van Gogh, whose work hasn’t been publicly displayed here in Aotearoa in over a decade. It is made available to us due to renovations that are taking place at Toledo Museum of Art, and we are honoured to be working with the Museum to make the most of this rare opportunity.”

A Century of Modern Art will be presented alongside Auckland Art Gallery’s highly-visited The Robertson Gift: Paths through Modernity.

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A Century of Modern Art traces the birth of modern painting, beginning with the Impressionists in the 1860s, and follows its evolution through key movements such as Post Impressionism, Symbolism, Cubism, Surrealism, Constructivism, German Expressionism, Bauhaus, De Stijl, Precisionism, and Colour Field Painting and Abstract Expressionism.

The exhibition include works by Paul Cezanne, Edgar Degas, Helen Frankenthaler, Édouard Manet, William Merritt Chase, Amedeo Modigliani, Berthe Morisot, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, Camille Pissarro, Robert Rauschenberg, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Vincent van Gogh, James McNeill Whistler, among others.

“A Century of Modern Art showcases the diversity and innovation that defined modern art movements,” says Lacy. “From the emotive brushstrokes of Van Gogh to the evocative landscapes of Monet and Rauschenberg’s bold abstractions, these works not only revolutionised Western art history but continue to inspire new generations.”

Adam Levine, the Edward Drummond and Florence Scott Libbey President, Director and CEO of the Toledo Museum of Art, says, “The Toledo Museum of Art is distinguished by the quality of its collection. Each acquisition in our institution’s history has been oriented to acquiring artworks of superlative aesthetic merit. Never have so many of our masterworks travelled together, and we could not be more excited for them to debut in Auckland.”

A Century of Modern Art is organised by the Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio. The exhibition has been proudly supported by HSBC and Auckland Art Gallery Foundation.

It is a paid exhibition, free to Gallery Members. Other ticket prices and booking details will be announced shortly.

Exhibition details

A Century of Modern Art

Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki

Sat 7 June–Sun 28 September 2025

Co-ordinating curator: Dr Sophie Matthiesson

About Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki

Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, part of Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, is the largest and most inspiring visual arts experience in New Zealand. Its collection and loan collections currently number over 18,000 artworks. They include major holdings of New Zealand historic, modern and contemporary art. Alongside outstanding works by Māori and Pacific artists, they represent significant international painting, sculpture and print collections.

About Tātaki Auckland Unlimited

Tātaki Auckland Unlimited is Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland’s cultural and economic agency committed to making our region a desirable place to live, work, visit, invest and do business.

Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is one of the substantive cultural institutions that Tātaki Auckland Unlimited owns, operates and maintains for the benefit of Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland.

About the Toledo Museum of Art

Established in 1901, the Toledo Museum of Art is a beloved cultural institution in Toledo, Ohio, and a global leader in the museum field. Its renowned collection features over 25,000 works, ranging from antiquity to contemporary art, and includes one of the finest collections of glass in the world. Situated on a 40-acre campus, the museum integrates art into people’s lives through its world-class collection, engaging exhibitions, robust educational programs, and community outreach.

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