Courtauld Impressionists: From Manet to Cézanne, National Gallery

Tucked away in the heart of Somerset House is one of the most glorious (and famous) Impressionist and Post-Impressionist collections in the world. Among the celebrated paintings garnishing the walls of the much-loved Courtauld Gallery are Paul Cézanne's The Card Players, Manet's last major work, A Bar at the Folies-Bergère, and a series of twirling dancers by Edgar Degas. The majority of this prestigious collection was assembled in the 1920s by businessman and philanthropist Samuel Courtauld.

Courtauld greatly admired the colour palette and modernity of the French Impressionists, collecting more than 70 Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works over the course of his lifetime. But Courtauld also had a demonstrative philanthropic streak. Alongside shaping his own collection, Courtauld helped shape the phenomenal Post-1800 Paintings Collection of London's National Gallery. In 1923 Courtauld established the Courtauld Fund enabling the National Gallery to acquire a phenomenal collection of modern French paintings, which now form the core of the National Gallery’s post-1800 collection. By doing this, 'Courtauld played a pioneering role in shaping public taste for Impressionism in the United Kingdom', explains Ernst Vegelin van Claerbergen, Head of the Courtauld Gallery.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Ladies in a boat: The Skiff (La Yole), 1875. © The National Gallery, London

The works in the Courtauld Gallery very rarely travel. But this September, as the Courtauld Gallery closes for a major redevelopment project, 26 masterpieces from Courtauld's collection will go on display alongside major Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings from the National Gallery's own collection, acquired with help from the Courtauld Fund.

This landmark exhibition, curated in 12 sections – each devoted to a different artist – traces the development of modern French painting from the 1860s to the turn of the 20th century; and explores the development of Courtauld's vision, taste, and motivation as he shaped two phenomenal collections: one private, and one public.

Courtauld Impressionists: From Manet to Cézanne presents a rare opportunity to celebrate the cultural legacy of one of the greatest collectors of the twentieth century.