COLUMBIA, SC.- Eight weeks into the exhibition, Turner to Cézanne: Masterpieces from the Davies Collection, National Museum Wales, the Columbia Museum of Art has surpassed 20,000 tickets for visitors and members. The show opened at the Columbia Museum of Art on March 6 -- the first time these works have been seen in the United States -- and closes in five weeks on Sunday, June 7. To date, more than 3,400 children in elementary, middle and high school from around the state have visited the exhibition for which the Museum has kept school group prices low to give students an opportunity to see this world-class exhibition.

Turner to Cézanne is attracting people from all across the nation to visit downtown Columbia for an opportunity to see the 53 Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masterpieces by, among others, Cézanne, Corot, van Gogh, Monet, Daumier, Manet, Millet, Pissarro, Renoir, Turner and Whistler. The Museum has had record visitation from Charleston, Charlotte, and Atlanta, among other regional cities, as well as from all along the eastern seaboard - north and south. Seventeen percent of tickets have been reserved for free by museum members and a remarkable 83 percent of tickets have been purchased by visitors to the Museum, coming from 43 states and Puerto Rico.

"We are thrilled at the positive response from this show and its economic impact on the city of Columbia. It is so gratifying to offer people the opportunity to see masterpieces by some of art history's most renowned and popular artists," executive director Karen Brosius said.

Tickets are available through Sunday, June 7 and are free for members, $15 for adults and $12 for students, seniors and military. Reservations can be made in advance online at columbiamuseum.org. During Turner to Cézanne, the Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday and open every Friday evening until 9:00 p.m.

The exhibition is organized by the American Federation of Arts and National Museum Wales. This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. The Columbia presentation is sponsored by the Blanchard Family.