The First Impressionist Exhibition

This epochal event in art history, held in Paris, marked the emergence of the Impressionist movement, which challenged the cultural monopoly of the Paris Salon and paved the way for modern art. The exhibition was organized by a group calling themselves the “Anonymous Cooperative Society of Artists.” It featured around 175 works by 30 artists such as Monet, Renoir and Degas. The show was generally regarded as a failure, receiving infamously hostile reviews and poor attendance. There would be eight Impressionism exhibitions in total running from 1874 to 1886.