October 12, 2024 – February 9, 2025
de Young
Golden Gate Park
50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive
San Francisco, CA 94118
Open Tuesday – Sunday 9:30 am – 5:15 pm

With over 120 works on display, Tamara de Łempicka will present a new perspective on the artist, her life, her work.

Through her liberal and glamorous lifestyle, artist Tamara de Łempicka (1894-1980) has become synonymous with the carefree spirit and opulence of the 1920s. Her paintings, combining a classical figural style with the modern energy of the international avant-garde, have cemented Łempicka as one of Art Deco’s defining painters, with an enduring influence on today’s pop culture landscape. Retrospective Tamara de Lempicka—the first exhibition in the United States dedicated to the artist’s full oeuvre—will reveal a new perspective on her life and design practice. In addition to her celebrated portraits, the more than 120 works on view will also include a number of rarely seen drawings, experimental still life from Łempicka’s early Parisian years, melancholic domestic interiors, as well as a selection of Art Deco objects, sculptures and dresses from the Fine Arts Museums’ collection that provide perspective on the artist’s process and historical context. The exhibition is co-curated by Furio Rinaldi and Gioia Mori.

“We are thrilled to present the first major retrospective of Tamara de Łempicka’s work in the United States. As one of the preeminent portrait painters of the Art Deco period, a scholarly consideration of her artistic output for a North American audience is long overdue” said Thomas P. Campbell, Director and CEO of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. “Considering San Francisco’s history as a great Art Deco capital of the world, the exhibition-–aptly presented in close proximity to landmarks of the period such as the Golden Gate Bridge and Coit Tower–adds to our understanding not only of Łempicka’s work specifically, but also this influential art and design period at large.”

Opening at the de Young on October 12 and running through February 9, Tamara de Lempicka is the first scholarly museum retrospective of the artist’s work in the United States, exploring Łempicka’s artistic influences and revealing the process behind works that have become synonymous with Art Deco. After its presentation at the de Young, the exhibition will travel to Houston and be on display at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, March 9 through May 26, 2025.

“Tamara de Lempicka” is organized by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco in collaboration with the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. The exhibition Lead Sponsor is Denise Littlefield Sobel. Significant Support is provided by Bettina S. Bryant, Roger Thomas, Arthur Libera, and Drew Thomas. Generous Support is provided by Romana D. Bracco, Stanlee Gatti, Parida Saennam and Austin Ligon, Laura Scher and Ian Altman, Mary Beth and David Shimmon, Gwynned Vitello, Sotheby’s and Zenni.com. Additional Support for this exhibition is provided by Peter and Luanne Andreotti, Sandra Bessières, Edina Jennison, Jan and Bob Newman, Sotheby’s, and Anita L. Wornick.

About the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, comprising the de Young in Golden Gate Park and the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park, is the largest public arts institution in San Francisco.

The de Young museum originated from the 1894 California Midwinter International Exposition in Golden Gate Park. The present copper-clad landmark building, designed by Herzog & de Meuron, opened in 2005. Reflecting an active conversation among cultures, perspectives, and time periods, the collections on view include American painting, sculpture, and decorative arts from the 17th to the 21st centuries; arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas; costume and textile arts; and international modern and contemporary art. 

The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco are located on land unceded by the Ramaytush Ohlone, who are the original inhabitants of what is now the San Francisco Peninsula. The greater Bay Area is also the ancestral territory of other Ohlone peoples, as well as the Miwok, Yokuts, and Patwin. We acknowledge, recognize, and honor the Indigenous ancestors, elders, and descendants whose nations and communities have lived in the Bay Area over many generations and continue to do so today. We respect the enduring relationships that exist between Indigenous peoples and their homelands. We are committed to partnering with Indigenous communities to raise awareness of their legacy and engage with the history of the region, the impacts of genocide, and the dynamics of settler colonialism that persist today.

Lead image: Thérèse Bonney (1894 – 1978) “Tamara de Lempicka working on the portrait “Nana de Herrera””, ca. 1929 Gelatin silver print 5 1/2 x 6 15/16 in. (14 x 17.6 cm) © The Regents of the University of California, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. Source: Ville de Paris / Bibliothèque historique 4C-EPF-006-00701

If you want to find out more about Tamara Łempicka, read the Culture.pl examination of the painter’s life and read of her ever-continuing influence.

Lead image: Tamara Gorska dite Tamara de Lempicka (1898-1980), peintre portraitiste. En train de peindre “Nana de Herrera”. Chez elle, 1928. Photographie de Thérèse Bonney (1894-1978). Bibliothèque historique de la Ville de Paris.