Renoir’s drawings showcased in major exhibition, the first of its kind in over a century

Pierre-Auguste Renoir was one of the leaders of the Impressionist school of painting, established in 1874 by a group of French artists, whose loose brushwork and brightly colored paints created a sense of spontaneity and modernity. And now, 150 years later, he will return to the spotlight this fall.

“Renoir Drawings,” a major traveling exhibition of over 100 of his drawings and other works, created using mediums including pencil, pen and ink, chalk, pastel, watercolor, etching and lithography, will be on display at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York from October 17 to February 8, 2026, and then at the Musee d’Orsay in Paris from March 17 to July 5, 2026.

Although Renoir’s landscapes and portraits — of the French countryside and high society — are legendary worldwide, his drawings of these subjects are not well-known, particularly to the public. One reason: The last major exhibition of Renoir’s drawings took place at the Galeries Durand-Ruel in Paris in 1921.

To illustrate Renoir’s creative process, several of his major paintings will be reunited with and displayed alongside their related drawings. All seven preparatory drawings for the artist’s renowned painting, “The Great Bathers” (1884-1887), and the painting itself will be shown in New York, while “Dance in the Country” (1883), owned by the Musée d’Orsay, will be shown with preparatory drawings both in New York and Paris.

An 1886-1887 red and while chalk study of “The Great Bathers,” donated to the Morgan Library in 2018 by Drue Heinz, the late American actress-turned-cultural philanthropist, inspired the exhibition, according to Colin Bailey, the director of the Morgan Library & Museum, and one of the show’s curators.