Henri Matisse’s colorful, iconoclastic 1905 portrait of his wife Amélie wearing a big hat is at the center of a thrilling exhibition opening at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art this week.
“Henri Matisse’s Femme au chapeau: A Modern Scandal” illustrates how the painting — perhaps the most prized masterpiece in SFMOMA’s collection and a leading example of the French avant-garde movement Fauvism — rocked the art world in the early 20th century.
On view May 15 through Sept. 13, the exhibition, in seven galleries, is curated by Janet Bishop, Maria Castro and Alison Guh.
Its highlight is an exquisite recreation of the 1905 Salon d’Automne at the Grand Palais in Paris (complete with era-appropriate wallpaper!) where the painting debuted, astonishing audiences with its wild brush strokes and bold, unrealistic color scheme. Several of the paintings from that 1905 exhibition, including works by Charles Camoin, André Derain, Henri Manguin, Albert Marquet and Maurice de Vlaminck, are on view near “Femme au chapeau.”
“There was a lot of spirited response to Matisse’s paintings; it was an infamous display that led to the birth of fauvism,” said Bishop at a press preview today.
“We sought to tell the painting’s full story. We’ve never before shown it in its original context,” Bishop added.
She called Matisse’s 1905 “Open Window, Collioure” a particular gem because it beautifully captured the view from Matisse’s hotel room during the artist’s particularly fruitful period.
André Derain’s 1905 portrait “Henri Matisse” is among the works by Matisse’s contemporaries in “Matisse’s Femme au chapeau: A Modern Scandal.” (Tate/2026 Artists Rights Society via Bay City News) 
Henri Matisse’s “Yellow Pottery from Provence” is on view in a gallery that recreates the 1905 Salon d’Automne in Paris at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. (Mitro Hood/Baltimore Museum of Art, Cone Collection/ARS via Bay City News) 
“Madame Matisse au kimono” is among Henri Matisse’s depictions of his wife. (Archives Henri Matisse/ARS/via Bay City News) 
Joan Brown’s 1972 “Self-Portrait in Fur Hat” is among the works by Bay Area artists in “Matisse’s Femme au chapeau: A Modern Scandal.” (Robert Berg Photography/di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art via Bay City News)
The exhibition’s surrounding galleries focus on Amélie Matisse, the artist’s wife and frequent model, who was a hatmaker; other 20th century paintings of women in hats influenced by Matisse; and contemporary works by notable Bay Area artists (Joan Brown, Richard Diebenkorn, David Park) also inspired by Matisse.
Interestingly, the exhibit follows “Femme au chapeau’s” journey from Paris to San Francisco. It came to SFMOMA in 1991, donated by Levi’s heiress Elise S. Haas, who bought it from Sarah Stein in 1948. Sarah and Michael Stein were sister-in-law and brother of Leo and Gertrude Stein, who first acquired it on the last day of the 1905 salon (for about $100, Bishop said) and displayed it for about a decade in their famous, art-filled Paris apartment.
Another amazing room houses animated large-scale projections of the Stein’s Left Bank apartment. The immersive, moving display is packed with famous paintings, including many by Pablo Picasso.
Community events for the exhibition are Hat Day on Sunday, when visitors are invited to wear their favorite hat (or make their own), and Community Day on May 24, with free admission.
“Henri Matisse’s Femme au chapeau: A Modern Scandal” runs May 15 through Sept. 13 at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 151 Third St., San Francisco. Admission is $40 general; $35 senior; $33 for students; free for ages 18 and under. Visit sfmoma.org.