Royal Academy to Present ‘Matisse, Picasso, Klee’ from the Museum Berggruen

The Royal Academy of Arts in London will present ‘Matisse, Picasso, Klee: Masterpieces from the Museum Berggruen’ from 19 November 2027 to 19 March 2028, bringing works from the Berlin collection assembled by Heinz Berggruen into a focused exhibition of three central figures of European modernism.

The exhibition is being organised by the Royal Academy in collaboration with the Museum Berggruen, Neue Nationalgalerie, Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin. The announcement describes the presentation as an opportunity to see exemplary works by Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso and Paul Klee, and characterises it as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity”. The source material does not specify the total number of works or provide a complete checklist.

Berggruen’s history forms an important part of the collection’s context. The Royal Academy describes him as a German Jew who fled the Nazis before the Second World War and later assembled what it calls perhaps the finest art collection ever held by a private collector. The collection’s emphasis on Matisse, Picasso and Klee reflects Berggruen’s sustained engagement with artists associated with the development of modern art in the early and mid-20th century.

The Museum Berggruen is identified in the exhibition material as part of Berlin’s Neue Nationalgalerie and the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz. The collaboration will extend the collection’s reach beyond its Berlin setting, while retaining its identity as a presentation drawn from Berggruen’s holdings rather than a survey of modern art more broadly.

One work identified in the Royal Academy’s accompanying image information is Picasso’s ‘Dora Maar with Green Fingernails’ (1936), an oil painting measuring 65 by 54 centimetres. The work is listed as belonging to the Museum Berggruen, Neue Nationalgalerie, Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz, and is credited to photographer Jens Ziehe. The exhibition material does not confirm whether the painting will be included in the final display, so it is presented here as an associated example rather than a confirmed checklist entry.

The Berggruen exhibition is part of the Royal Academy’s announced 2027 programme. Other scheduled presentations include ‘Rembrandt: Radical Printmaker’, running from 9 April to 19 September; the ‘Summer Exhibition 2027’, from 18 May to 15 August; and ‘Simone Leigh’, from 18 September to 12 December. The Academy has also announced ‘Peggy Guggenheim in London: The Making of a Collector’, scheduled for 21 November 2026 to 14 March 2027. ‘Matisse, Picasso, Klee: Masterpieces from the Museum Berggruen’ will remain on view at the Royal Academy through 19 March 2028.