'Modigliani: Beyond the Myth'

This show opened last Saturday at the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., and will be up through May 29.

The first exhibit of the artist's works in Washington in over 20 years, it features nearly 100 paintings, drawings and sculptures, including five of the approximately two dozen stone heads he created in Paris between 1909 and 1914, after he'd come under the strong influence of Romanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi.

Tickets are required: buy them here.

The artist's sculptures have always interested me more than his paintings, and being able to view five in one place makes this exhibit a must-see for me.

Modigliani (below),

born in 1884, stopped making sculptures in 1915 to concentrate entirely on painting until his death on January 24, 1920 at 35.

The shift occurred as a result of his ill health, market pressures and a shortage of materials.

During his brief lifetime few apart from his fellow artists appreciated his gifts.