MONTREAL.- The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts announced that Pablo Picasso's The Hetaerae is back on display. Visitors will once again be able to enjoy this painting, presented as part of the exhibition Berthe Weill, Art Dealer of the Parisian Avant-garde, which runs until September 7, 2025.

Picasso's painting was splattered with water-based paint thrown by an environmental activist on June 19. The work was covered by a layer of glass that protected it from damage, but the gilding on the frame was damaged in the incident and required restoration.

"We are thrilled that The Hetaerae is now back on display. For nearly a month, visitors from here and abroad have been unable to enjoy this magnificent work from Picasso's early career. The frame, an important object in its own right, sustained damage, and we are grateful to the expert teams who repaired it and ensured the painting's safe return to our galleries. Art, artists and museums are powerful vectors of social change and important allies in shaping a better world. They need our protection too," noted Mary-Dailey Desmarais, Zhao-Ionescu Chief Curator of the MMFA.

Enhanced security measures at the MMFA since 2022

In response to numerous acts of vandalism carried out by activists in museums in recent years, the MMFA implemented new measures in 2022 to ensure public safety and the safekeeping of the works it exhibits. All backpacks and bags larger than 30 x 40 cm must be checked at the cloakroom. Small bags and handbags are allowed in the galleries, provided their contents have been visually inspected by an MMFA agent.

The Hetaerae

The Hetaerae is one of the works included in the very first exhibition dedicated to Pablo Picasso, which took place at the Galerie B. Weill in April 1902. The Catalan artist was only 20 years old at the time. Berthe Weill: Art Dealer of the Parisian Avant-garde features two other significant paintings by Picasso shown in this exhibition: The Blue Room (The Phillips Collection, Washington) and Still Life (Picasso Museum, Barcelona), both early examples from the artist's Blue Period. It's interesting to note that Berthe Weill did not manage to sell any of these now-famous paintings during the exhibition at her gallery, but she continued to show works by Picasso as well as many other talented young artists destined for greatness.

Berthe Weill, Art Dealer of the Parisian Avant-garde
On until September 7, 2025

A trailblazing female art dealer, Berthe Weill (1865-1951) was the first to sell Pablo Picasso's work and to exhibit Henri Matisse. She was also the only dealer to organize a solo show for Amedeo Modigliani during his lifetime. Passionate, outspoken and visionary, Weill unwaveringly supported fledgling artists, many of whom went on to become icons of Modernism.Comprising over 100 works and archival documents, Berthe Weill, Art Dealer of the Parisian Avant-garde features exceptional paintings and sculptures by major figures of Modern art ranging from Pablo Picasso to Suzanne Valadon. A Canadian exclusive, it is the first large-scale exhibition dedicated to the career and artistic vision of Berthe Weill.

An exhibition organized by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Grey Art Museum, New York University, and the Musée de l'Orangerie, Paris.

The exhibition is curated by Anne Grace, Curator of Modern Art at the MMFA; Marianne Le Morvan, guest curator and founder of the Berthe Weill Archives; Lynn Gumpert, Director of the Grey Art Museum, New York University, from 1997 to 2025; and Sophie Eloy, Attaché to the Collection at the Musée de l'Orangerie, Paris.