Pierre Daura: Fifty Fifty

Exhibition Website

Jun 16 2018 - Oct 7 2018

Catalan-American artist Pierre Daura (1896-1976) was born on the island of Minorca, Spain. He grew up in Barcelona, and moved to Paris as a young man in 1914. As a result, artistically he came of age alongside some of the most significant members of the European avant-garde, including Joaquín Torres-Garcia and Michel Seuphor, with whom he organized the modernist group Cercle et Carré.

When the Spanish Civil War broke out in 1937, Daura returned to Spain to fight with the Republican army against Franco’s forces. He was injured during the war and went back to France to recuperate. Just before the onset of World War II, Daura, his wife, and daughter came to the United States, where they settled in Virginia.

In celebration of a major gift from the artist’s daughter, Martha R. Daura, of paintings, prints, and drawings, and in conjunction with the exhibition Cercle et Carré and the International Spirit of Abstract Art, this exhibition of works from BAM’s Permanent Collection examines Daura’s varied approach to painting and investigates his storied life in Spain, France, and the United States. He was a prolific artist, and one not easily categorized, because he was interested in both realism and abstraction. Pierre Daura: Fifty Fifty resituates Daura as an influential twentieth-century artist and highlights his creative range by showing works in several styles and media.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website 


  • Painting
  • European
  • 20th Century
  • Pierre Daura

Exhibition Venues & Dates