SFMOMA has opened "Matisse's Femme au chapeau: A Modern Scandal," a new exhibition centered on Henri Matisse's iconic 1905 painting "Femme au chapeau" (Woman with a Hat). The show recreates the atmosphere of the 1905 Salon d'Automne in Paris, where the painting first caused a scandal for its bold, fauvist colors. It reunites the work with three other Matisse paintings from that debut, alongside pieces by contemporaries like André Derain, Albert Marquet, and Jelka Rosen, and later artists inspired by the painting, such as Mickalene Thomas. The exhibition also includes a gallery dedicated to the Haas bequest, which brought the painting to SFMOMA in 1991.
This exhibition matters because it provides unprecedented context for a landmark work of modern art that helped launch Fauvism. By recreating the original Salon setting and gathering related works, SFMOMA allows visitors to understand the radical impact of Matisse's painting in its historical moment. The show also highlights the painting's deep ties to San Francisco, having been brought to the city by Sarah and Michael Stein in 1935 and later donated by Elise Haas. It underscores how a single artwork can serve as a lens through which to explore art history, patronage, and the evolution of taste.