McNay Art Museum Announces Three-Year Loan of Four Major Paintings from the Robertson Foundation

Works by Maurice de Vlaminck and André Derain will anchor a new gallery exploring innovation in modern painting

(San Antonio) June 3, 2026 — The McNay Art Museum is pleased to announce a three-year loan of four significant paintings from the Robertson Foundation, drawn from the distinguished collection of the late Julian H. Robertson, Jr. and his wife, Josie Robertson.

The four works—Maurice de Vlaminck’s “La Seine à Bougival (La base des canotiers),” 1906; André Derain’s “Le phare de Collioure,” 1905; Derain’s “Bateau sur la Seine, environs de Paris,” 1904; and Derain’s “La jetée de l’Estaque,” 1906—will anchor a dedicated gallery exploring innovations in painting during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Over the next three years, the McNay will rotate works from its permanent collection in dialogue with the Robertson loans, offering visitors new ways to consider the artistic experiments that helped shape modernism.

Formed with exceptional discernment, The Robertson Family Collection brings together artists whose work transformed the language of modern art, from the radical handling of color and light to new approaches to form, abstraction, and pictorial space. At the McNay, these four paintings will serve as touchstones for a changing installation that places European modernism in conversation with the Museum’s own holdings.

The loan also carries a meaningful San Antonio connection. Josie Robertson was born in San Antonio and studied art at the University of Texas at Austin before helping shape one of the country’s notable private collections of modern and contemporary art with her husband, Julian.

“The McNay is honored to welcome these exceptional paintings from the Robertson Foundation,” said Matthew McLendon, PhD, director and CEO of the McNay Art Museum. “Together, they allow us to tell a richer and more dynamic story about the transformations in painting that shaped the modern era. We are especially grateful for the opportunity to place these works in dialogue with the McNay’s permanent collection, extending Marion Koogler McNay’s founding vision of making modern art accessible, meaningful, and alive for our community.”

The installation is on view through August 2029.

Images available here.

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About the McNay Art Museum
The McNay Art Museum engages a diverse community in the discovery and enjoyment of the visual arts. Built in the 1920s by artist and educator Marion Koogler McNay, the Spanish Colonial Revival residence became the site of Texas’ first modern art museum when it opened in 1954. Today, 200,000 visitors a year enjoy works by modern masters including Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, Edward Hopper, Joan Mitchell, Alice Neel, Georgia O’Keeffe, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. The 25 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds include sculptures by Willie Cole, Robert Indiana, Luis A. Jiménez Jr., Alejandro Martín, George Rickey, Joel Shapiro, Kiki Smith, Tom Wesselmann and others. 

For more information about the McNay, visit www.mcnayart.org.

The McNay is open Wednesday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Thursday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday from Noon to 5 p.m.