Art lovers will gather at the Norton Simon Museum this Sunday for a rare French-language exploration of the émigré artists who transformed Paris into the world’s artistic capital.
The “Afternoon Salon: Painters in Paris—en français” on August 24 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. offers an intimate discussion about the École de Paris movement, examining how outsider artists like Pablo Picasso, Amedeo Modigliani and Marc Chagall shaped the City of Light.
“Learn about the non-French nationals who were inspired by and who inspired artistic life and movements in the City of Light. Explore colors, shapes and sentiments evoked in works by Liubov Popova, Amedeo Modigliani and Pablo Picasso,” according to the museum’s program description.
The discussion takes special resonance given the museum’s collection, which includes Modigliani’s haunting 1918 portrait “Jeanne Hébuterne”—a work embodying the passionate lives of these artistic expatriates.
“This salon will be held in French. Intermediate levels and above welcomed,” the museum notes. The École de Paris wasn’t a formal movement but rather “this community of artists – many of them émigrés” who included Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Amedeo Modigliani, Chaïm Soutine and Marc Chagall, amongst others, as central figures. The term was coined by critic André Warnod in 1925.
“Space is limited to 15 participants. Sign up is required and is taken at the Information Desk when the museum opens on a first come, first served basis,” according to the museum.
“Afternoon Salon: Painters in Paris—en français” will run on Sunday, Aug. 24 at 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Norton Simon Museum, 411 W. Colorado Blvd., in Pasadena. For more call (626) 449-6840 or visit https://www.nortonsimon.org/calendar/2025/summer-2025/Painters-in-Parisen-francais–8-24-2025-100pm/date/2025-08-24. Ticket prices: Free with museum admission ($20 adults, $15 seniors, free for students with I.D., members and ages 18 and under).
