Matisse posters are almost always exhibition posters — printed by museums and galleries to announce a show, using his paintings, drawings or paper cut-outs as the image.
That makes them a slightly different kind of collecting from a commercial illustrator's work. The design decision was rarely Matisse's own; it belonged to whoever was promoting the exhibition. What you are collecting is the intersection of his art and a particular museum's print run.
Exhibition Poster, Not Fine-Art Print
An original exhibition poster is a different object from a signed fine-art print of the same image, and different again from a modern decorative reproduction. We keep those three categories clearly separated in how we describe every piece.
Colour and paper quality vary noticeably between print runs and decades, which is part of what makes comparing different Matisse exhibition posters so interesting.
Poster Spotlight
Henri Matisse - Nice La Danseuse Creole
A Nice exhibition poster built around La Danseuse Cré
View Poster
Henri Matisse - Jazz - Louisiana Museum
A Louisiana Museum poster drawn from the Jazz series, Matisse's celebrated paper cut-outs.
View Poster
Henri Matisse - Arabesque
A more graphic, linear composition, showing a very different side of his exhibition-poster imagery.
View PosterA Note for Collectors
Establish the exhibition, venue, printer and print date rather than relying on the image alone — popular Matisse compositions have been reprinted for different shows and decades. See our authenticity guide for the checks we use.
Explore More
Browse our Henri Matisse collection, or continue with Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró and our Authenticity guide.
Original Posters by Henri Matisse
A live look at Henri Matisse posters currently in the Printed Originals collection.
-
Henri Matisse - Fondation Louis Vuitton
-
Henri Matisse - Baltimore Museum of Art
-
Henri Matisse - La Tristesse du Roi - Nice
-
Henri Matisse - Los Angeles County Museum of Art
-
Henri Matisse - Fondation Beyeler
-
Henri Matisse - Paper Cut-Outs - Detroit Institute of Arts
-
Henri Matisse - Baltimore Museum of Art
-
Henri Matisse - Dallas Museum of Art
