One of the notable aspects of the Frist Art Museum is its rotating “collection” from season to season. I have been eyeing this exhibit since November — and full stop — it was worth the wait. Only a 25-minute walk from Vanderbilt’s campus with select discounts for college students, you can easily get admission for less than the price of two meal swipes. This is an exhibit that you surely won’t want to miss. From French wine and dining to Tennessee toils, I am beyond eager to present sister exhibitions, “Farm to Table: Art, Food, and Identity in the Age of Impressionism” and “Tennessee Harvest.” If this doesn’t speak volumes, I don’t know what will, I spent three hours between the two exhibits and I still couldn’t tell you the showstopping piece.
Farm to Table
Yes, I could mention Claude Monet’s “The Haystack” or Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s “Field of Banana Trees,” both of which are likely the most recognizable artists of the exhibit. But this exhibit holds more than farmlands. One of the largest pieces in the exhibition, Charles-Émile Jacque’s “The Shepard and His Flock,” does not merely hang on the walls — it towers over you. The dramatic lighting makes the flock almost enter the gallery space, and the weary expression on the shepherd’s face becomes palpable. This is a piece you can absorb in minutes, not seconds. Another notable artist from the exhibition was Victor Gabriel Gilbert for his “Fish Market at Les Halles” and “Meat Haulers.” You can smell these works and the pungent air surrounding you as Gilbert displays his mastery of light that seems more like various portals than paintings. The exhibition — focused on, you guessed it, food — does not shy away from being risqué. This shines in the placement of a bench directly in front of Narcisse Chaillou’s “A Rat Seller During the Siege of Paris in 1870.” It is a piece that almost startles you at first glance, but it has a mystifying charm to it. Seeing a butcher — even if unconventional by modern standards — enjoying his craft is something amusingly grotesque. This is a piece that the Frist is willing to highlight, even if it was a bold move.
But, if I had to highlight a piece from the exhibition, it would be James Tissot’s “The Artists’ Wives.” At first glance, it reminded me of Renoir’s “Bal du moulin de la Galette,” but no. This is better. The extravagant dinner scene, the detailed food on each visible plate, the exuberant costumes… it feels like the Impressionist version of the grandiose opening of “The Greatest Showman.” But wait, a woman in the foreground has been staring right at you, calling your attention at first sight. It is truly a carefully impactful piece by an artist I have never encountered before. Kudos to the Frist curation team for getting this piece on display, it is a top contender for one of my favorite paintings of all time.
Photograph of James Tissot’s “The Artists’ Wives,” as photographed on Feb. 1, 2025. (Hustler Multimedia/George Albu)
Tennessee Harvest
I never expected to see the words “Impressionism” and “Tennessee” in the same sentence, but it felt surreal to see elements of Appalachian life presented in styles reminiscent of my favorite French masters. If there is an artist to highlight in this exhibit, it would be William Gilbert Gaul. His work throughout the exhibit feels like the perfect mix of hunting cabin aesthetic blended with Monet-style Impressionism. The warm tones of “Upland Shooting” and “Hunter in a Tennessee Landscape” create a sense of rural autumn-air nostalgia. Anna Catherine Wiley’s “Morning Milking Time” is also a stand-out of the exhibit, with its visible brush strokes reminiscent of Vincent Van Gogh. I also pleasantly enjoyed — among other still lifes of produce — Wiley’s “Still Life with Grapes.” The contrasting dark-purple tones of the grapes with the orange-y yellows of the basket make for an eye-pleasing composition, giving you a break from the elaborate tableaus from “Farm to Table.”
Anna Catherine Wiley’s “Morning Milking Time,” as photographed on Feb. 1, 2025. (Hustler Multimedia/George Albu)
Overall, this is an exhibition that I strongly recommend going to. The Frist could have opted to fill blockbusters, but, rather, they took care to introduce new artists to their guests. They had the confidence to pull together a unique curation and it paid off. This is an unforgettable exhibit, so get your tickets before the exhibit closes on May 4.