Discover a world of art through the Bloch Galleries. Come enjoy the collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masterworks.
In June 2015, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art welcomed into its collection 29 masterworks by the leading Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artists of the 19th century — among them Pierre Bonnard, Eugène Boudin, Gustave Caillebotte, Paul Cézanne, Edgar Degas, Paul Gauguin, Édouard Manet, Claude Monet, Berthe Morisot, Camille Pissarro, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Georges Seurat, Paul Signac, Alfred Sisley and Vincent van Gogh.
The Marion and Henry Bloch Collection, created over many years, was among the few outstanding collections of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art remaining in private hands. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is the grateful recipient of this transformative gift, which inspired a major renovation of the museum’s European 19th- and early-20th-century galleries.
The Bloch Galleries offer visitors an immersive experience with the Bloch Collection masterpieces, integrated into the museum’s rich collections. The new galleries are made possible by funding from the Marion and Henry Bloch Family Foundation.
Library Resources
Research guides for the Bloch Galleries are available. We invite you to visit the Spencer Art Reference Library Reading Room for more information.
Guide to Paintings in the Bloch Galleries
Guide to Decorative Arts in the Bloch Galleries
Interactive Features
Enrich your Bloch Galleries experience with state-of-the-art technology including in-gallery tablets and interactive stations, along with podcast-style audio tours, guided tours, events and talks—free of charge.
In the Details
Have you ever examined a single brushstroke? Looking at minute details in art can reveal new insights into an artist’s subject, technique and materials. This touchscreen interactive enables visitors to zoom into and freely explore ultra-high-resolution images of works on view.
Color Composer
Vasily Kandinsky saw paintings not just as shape and color, but also as tone and volume. Using a touchscreen as a canvas, you can construct a digital painting using Kandinsky-esque shapes and biomorphic forms. By pressing “play”, the composition becomes an animated soundscape, fusing sound and vision.
Explore Printmaking
This iPad-based interactive unpacks the steps involved in producing woodcut, intaglio and lithographic prints. Expert insight also addresses the visual characteristics of each process.
Gallery+ iPads
Located on benches in the Impressionist gallery, Gallery+ iPads reveal the interactions among art, artists, society and history. Explore a timeline of events and artists’ biographies and other engaging activities.