Phenomenally successfulin the United States yet longconsidered a “lightweight” by Frenchart critics, the Normandy-born RaoulDufy is at last being celebrated inParis with a major retrospective. Atthe Musée d’Art Moderne de la Villede Paris (MAM) from October 17through January 11, 2009, “RaoulDufy, le Plaisir”—whose title echoesthe American writer Gertrude Stein?s1946 exclamation “Raoul Dufy ispleasure!”—brings together 265works, including 120 paintings pluscouture fabrics and ceramics, as wellas the newly restored La fée électricité,a monumental mural Dufypainted in 1937–38 for the ExpositionInternationale des Arts et desTechniques in Paris. Also on view arerarely exhibited privately held canvases,such as his Fauvist scene of aseaside French village Les pêcheursde la plage Sainte-Adresse, 1907,which has been in the possession ofa Hamburg family since 1917.And Dufy’s virtuosity with color is ondelightful display in the dazzlingpinks of La Martiniquaise, 1931, froma private London collection.

"Overdue Ode" originally appeared in the October 2008 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction's October 2008 Table of Contents.