NEW YORK, NY.- Hammer Galleries presents an important exhibition of the world renowned French Impressionist Master Pierre-Auguste Renoir for its inaugural exhibition at its new location - 475 Park Avenue, New York.

RENOIR, curated by gallery President and Director Howard Shaw, focuses on the second half of Renoir's dynamic sixty year long career, a productive, yet often overlooked period, recently the subject of a major exhibition, Renoir in the 20th Century (Grand Palais, Paris; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA; 2009-2010).

RENOIR features twenty five oils and pastels, ranging in date from the mid 1880's -1912. Focusing on key works from the last thirty years of the artist's life, highlights include large oils and pastels of close family members, portraits of young women and classical nudes and bathers. Les Laveuses is a magnificent example of Renoir's favorite theme which dominated his later work, that of female figures depicted in a natural environment. Other works include, Claude Renoir dessinant (Coco ecrivant) and Femme au fauteuil vert (Gabrielle) each highlighting the importance of family and domestic life which Renoir grew to greatly cherish in his later years.

As Renoir's interests turned from capturing the fleeting moments of modern urban life, to the pursuit of timeless, classical subjects, specifically the theme of the female nude, his focus shifted to classical themes inspired by the tradition of Raphael, Titian and Rubens as well as the painters of the French 18th Century. His enthusiasm for exploring themes and subjects beyond Impressionism is evident as Renoir stated in 1913, "I am just learning how to paint," - six years before he died at age 78.

This is the third time Renoir is the focus of a solo exhibition at Hammer Galleries, the first taking place in 1959 and the second in 1984. RENOIR is accompanied by a sixty four page color catalog with an essay by noted French 19th and early 20th Century Specialist and Curator, Ann Dumas.