When we last took Jersey Kids readers to the Morgan Library & Museum, it was for a general overview on how to visit the Morgan Library with kids, along with reviewing an exhibit on Bella da Costa Greene, the library’s former librarian and director. The library and museum now has a new exhibit, the Morgan Library Renoir drawings.
The exhibit features almost 100 works, from early academic drawings, to later portraits and paintings. You can see his progression as an artist, in his subject choices, artistic medium, and his process.
Starting at age 13, Renoir began an apprenticeship as a porcelain painter at a Paris workshop. He then began studying at a free municipal art school in Paris, and you can see some of the sketches he made during this period, at the exhibit. The drawings above are from that display. He left the decorative arts study to become an artist and began copying works at the Louvre, gaining admittence to the Ecole des Beaux Arts school. He stopped drawing for about 15 years, painting instead.
The gallery features some of his watercolor sketches.
One of the wonderful things about this exhibit is numerous examples of his studies and the final artistic product. Above you can see his watercolor study, and the finished pastel version of it is below.
Below are two of the nine or so studies he made for the Dance at Bougival that are on display. The final painting was not in this exhibit.
There were also studies (below) for Dance in the Country.
The Morgan Library Renoir drawings exhibit did have some large-scale sketches in red chalk (a medium he used frequently) and some were for the Forest Bathers, which was on display as a finished artwork.
Below you’ll see the art work, The Great Bathers.
He also used the red chalk when sketching out the composition for The Forest Bathers.
The final was not part of this Morgan Library Renoir drawings exhibit, but you can see the illustration below.
The exhibit features a number of portraits he did, mostly in chalk, which was the style at that time. If you take children to the exhibit, they may be interested in listening to some of the commentary on the app, and trying to identify the differences between the studies and the final works. There are some good lessons here, as well, for kids – in practice, practice, practice! You can download their family guide ahead, or pick one up when you are there.
If you go
The Morgan Library Renoir drawings exhibit runs through February 8, 2026.
The Morgan Library & Museum is at 225 Madison Avenue.
Here are more details about how to visit the Morgan Library with kids.