Mayor Gavin Newsom today welcomed the United States debut of Birth of Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Musée d’Orsay, on view at the de Young Museum May 22 to September 6, 2010.  The exhibition includes nearly 100 paintings from the Musée d’Orsay’s permanent collection and highlights the work of 37 artists including William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Paul Cézanne, Gustave Courbet, Edgar Degas, Édouard Manet, Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley and James McNeill Whistler.

“San Francisco is proud to host this impressionist blockbuster from the Musée d'Orsay in Paris,” said Mayor Newsom. “The exhibit is sure to leave a lasting impression on all visitors.” The Musée d’Orsay is lending its most beloved paintings while it undergoes a partial closure for refurbishment and reinstallation in anticipation of the museum’s 25th anniversary in 2011.  Birth of Impressionism will be followed in the fall of 2010 by Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cézanne and Beyond: Post–Impressionist Masterpieces  from the Musée d’Orsay.  The de Young will be the only museum in the world to host both exhibitions.