Impressionist Moment art exhibit day trip set Jan. 15

Gallery One is sponsoring a bus trip set for Wednesday, Jan. 15, when participants can view the Paris 1874: The Impressionist Moment exhibition at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

Celebrating the 150th year since the beginning of the Impressionist movement, the exhibit includes more than 350 paintings from the first Impressionist exhibition, as well as works from the established Paris Salon at the Academie des Beaux-Arts during the same year in 1874. This exhibit will not be shown at any other United States venue, and guests will be able to attend a special lecture at 11 a.m. in the East Wing Lecture Hall.

This exhibit at the National Gallery of Art was organized jointly with the Musée d’Orsay and commemorates the 150th anniversary of the group of artists called the Impressionists.

Since 1667, the Paris Salon held the definitive, yearly, juried art exhibition at the Academie des Beaux-Arts which could make or break artists’ careers. In April 1874, the group calling themselves “The Société Anonyme” gathered their paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures, and presented their first exhibit at the former atelier of a photographer on the Boulevard des Capucines. This was in response to the refusals many of these artists were getting from the Paris Salon.

The group included artists Paul Cezanne, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Berthe Morisot, Camille Pissarro and Alfred Sisley. Their artwork was distinctly different from the staid, historical, religious and mythological realism displayed at the salon. Their loosely painted style depicting ordinary life, nature and landscapes via the use of bold color and light became known as Impressionism, after an art critic’s observation. The National Gallery is presenting these two distinct styles, the old and the new, as a tale of two exhibitions during 1874. The rooms are filled with Salon paintings side-by-side with Impressionist paintings that were shown at the same time but in two different places. This obvious contrast reveals the origins of Impressionism and how its revolutionary way of representing the world began what is known today as modern painting.

Participants will have ample opportunity to view the full collection of the gallery and/or explore the shops, galleries and restaurants located within easy walking distance.

Travel to and from the National Gallery will be in a deluxe touring bus with amenities for travel comfort.

With two pickup and drop-off sites, approximate time of departure will be 6:30 a.m. from the Bethany Beach area, and 15 minutes later from Rehoboth Beach. Return time will be around 7:30 p.m.

Space is limited. For more information and to make a reservation, visit Gallery One at 32 Atlantic Ave., Ocean View, or call 302-537-5055.