February 25 in Art History
8 real events recorded on February 25, the earliest from 1655. 2 artists were born , 1 died on this date.
The day's biggest moments
Born on this day 2
- 1655 Born
Born this day: Carel de Moor
On this day, Dutch Golden Age etcher and painter Carel de Moor was born, known for his work as a pupil of Gerard Dou, creating notable pieces such as Soldier Scene and Portrait of a Woman with Sunflowers. His art reflects the techniques of the Dutch Golden Age.
Carel de Moor's work remains a significant part of Dutch art history, showcasing the etching and painting techniques of his time.
- 1841 Born
Born this day: Auguste Renoir
Auguste Renoir, born on February 25, 1841, was a French painter and a leading figure in the Impressionist movement, known for his vibrant and intimate depictions of everyday life, characterized by light, color, and broken brushwork. His work continues to influence artists and captivate audiences with its sense of joy and spontaneity.
Renoir's innovative style and contributions to Impressionism remain a cornerstone of modern art.
Died on this day 1
- 1659 Died
Died this day: Willem Drost
Willem Drost was a Dutch Golden Age painter and printmaker known for his history paintings and portraits, such as 'Portrait of a Man' and 'The Sibyl'. His work showcases his skill in capturing the essence of his subjects. On February 25, 1659, this talented artist passed away, leaving behind a legacy of captivating pieces.
Willem Drost's legacy lies in his contributions to the Dutch Golden Age of painting, leaving an enduring mark on the art world.
Exhibitions & salons 3
- 1884 Salon Landmark
Opening of the Salon des Indépendants
The first Salon des Indépendants opened in Paris on February 25, 1884, founded by artists including Albert Dubois-Pillet, Odilon Redon, and Georges Seurat. Established as a reaction against the rigid selection committees of the official Paris Salon, this exhibition introduced the principle of 'no jury, no prizes,' allowing any artist to exhibit upon payment of a fee. The inaugural show featured works by Seurat, Signac, and Cross, marking a pivotal moment for the Neo-Impressionist movement and the broader avant-garde.
It permanently altered the exhibition landscape by democratizing access to the Paris art market and fostering the rise of modernist movements.
- 2009 Exhibition
Roni Horn aka Roni Horn opens at Tate Modern
Tate Modern opened Roni Horn aka Roni Horn on February 25, 2009, presenting a concentrated survey of Horn's sculpture, photography, drawing, and installation. The exhibition emphasized recurring questions in her work: doubling, mutable identity, place, weather, and the unstable surface between solid and liquid. Tate's presentation placed cast-glass sculptures alongside photographic sequences tied to Iceland, including works that treat landscape and human expression as changing fields rather than fixed subjects. The show mattered because it brought Horn's formally precise but conceptually elusive practice to one of Europe's most visible contemporary-art platforms, helping clarify her position between post-minimal sculpture, serial photography, and language-driven conceptual art.
The exhibition strengthened Horn's international standing as a major figure in post-minimal and conceptual art.
- 2024 Exhibition
Vertigo of Color opens in Houston
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston opened Vertigo of Color: Matisse, Derain, and the Origins of Fauvism on February 25, 2024, after its Metropolitan Museum of Art presentation. The exhibition examined the decisive summer of 1905, when Henri Matisse and Andre Derain worked in Collioure and pushed color into an autonomous expressive force. By focusing tightly on their dialogue, the show reframed Fauvism not as a loose label for bright painting but as a collaborative experiment in perception, Mediterranean light, and painterly intensity. Its Houston opening extended a major scholarly project, accompanied by a catalogue by Dita Amory and Ann Dumas, to a second U.S. audience.
The exhibition renewed attention to Fauvism's origins as a focused exchange between Matisse and Derain.
André Derain , Henri Matisse Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston
Openings & foundings 1
- 2022 Opening
Rockhampton Museum of Art opens
Rockhampton Museum of Art officially opened to the public on February 25, 2022, replacing the earlier Rockhampton Art Gallery with a larger, multi-level building on Quay Street. The opening marked the public arrival of an institution built around one of Australia's strongest regional modern-art collections, assembled from the 1970s through local fundraising, government acquisition support, and the leadership of mayor Rex Pilbeam. The new museum gave Rockhampton space to show works and run exhibitions that the former gallery could not easily accommodate, while reframing the collection as a civic and regional cultural asset. Its opening also signaled a broader shift in Australian museum infrastructure: substantial contemporary art facilities were no longer only capital-city projects.
The museum gave Central Queensland a major permanent platform for modern and contemporary Australian art.
Auctions, prizes & heists 1
- 2009 Auction
Looted Old Summer Palace bronzes sold at Christie's
On February 25, 2009, Christie's Paris sold two 18th-century bronze fountainheads, a rat and a rabbit from the Chinese zodiac group looted from the Old Summer Palace in 1860, as part of the Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge collection auction. The buyer was later identified as Cai Mingchao, an adviser to China's National Treasures Fund, who refused to pay and framed the bid as a patriotic intervention. The sale became an art-market flashpoint because it combined trophy collecting, imperial violence, repatriation claims, and the legal limits of auction-house responsibility. It also turned a design-and-fine-art dispersal billed as a glamorous private collection sale into a public dispute over cultural property.
The failed sale intensified debate over repatriating looted Chinese cultural objects from Western collections.