A Fresh Lens on Impressionism
Experience over 100 French Impressionist artworks as they make their Southeast Asian debut in largest exhibition of its kind at National Gallery Singapore.
By Art+ Magazine Team
Photos courtesy of Museum of Fine Arts Boston
January 16, 2026
National Gallery Singapore will present the largest exhibition of French Impressionism ever to be shown in Southeast Asia. Organized in collaboration with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA)—home to one of the world’s most significant collections of Impressionist art—the exhibition opened on 14 November 2025. Into the Modern: Impressionism from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston invites visitors to explore the role of Impressionism in depicting the transformation of modern daily life in the 19th century, while showcasing the spectacular beauty and enduring appeal of the movement’s artworks.
Eugène Louis Boudin. Fashionable Figures on the Beach. 1865. Oil on panel. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John J. Wilson, 1974. Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Visitors will be treated to a rare opportunity to encounter more than 100 paintings and prints up close and in person. As none of the works in this exhibition have previously been exhibited in Southeast Asia, Into the Modern marks a significant moment for the region to experience Impressionism firsthand. The exhibition features the movement’s most celebrated artists, including Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Paul Cézanne, Berthe Morisot, Camille Pissarro, and many more. Together, their works unveil Impressionism’s key concerns and defining contributions, offering visitors a captivating encounter with one of modern art’s most beloved and enduring movements.
Claude Monet. Poppy Field in a Hollow near Giverny. 1885. Oil on canvas. Juliana Cheney Edwards Collection, 1925. Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
A special highlight of the exhibition is the inclusion of 17 exquisite works by Claude Monet, one of the most renowned pioneers of Impressionist painting. The exhibited works will include some of Monet’s most iconic subjects, including grainstacks, poppy fields, and the Japanese-style bridge from his garden in Giverny, alongside breathtaking scenes of coastal and rural landscapes. Together, these canvases showcase the remarkable breadth of Monet’s compositions, color palettes, and subtle handling of light and shadow.
Edgar Degas. At the Races in the Countryside. 1869. Oil on canvas. 1931 Purchase Fund, 1926. Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Through seven thoughtfully curated thematic sections, the exhibition presents a fresh perspective on Impressionist art. Co-developed by curators from the Gallery and MFA Boston, the exhibition explores Impressionism through its dialogue with modernity, highlighting themes of urban life, gender, land, and the environment, and revealing the enduring relevance of the movement to our current times. Singapore’s iteration of the exhibition promises a uniquely immersive encounter, through exhibition design that employs color palettes that evoke modernity and relevance, complemented by archival panels that deepen the sense of connection across time.
Édouard Manet. Olympia (Large Plate). 1867. Etching. Gift of Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo in honour of Malcolm Rogers, 2014.
Complementing these works is the display of the only known moving image of Monet, offering audiences a glimpse of how Impressionists lived through a transformative period that aligned with film’s modern breakthrough. Learning is also interwoven into the exhibition through ARTelier spaces, which comprise interactive learning zones that inspire visitors to read, reflect, and create.
Into the Modern: Impressionism from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston runs from 14 November 2025 to 1 March 2026 at the Singtel Special Exhibition Galleries 1, 2, and 3, Level 3, National Gallery Singapore.
