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A stellar collection of paintings spanning Impressionism to Pop Art and featuring some of the world's greatest artists is visiting Auckland Art Gallery.

- BY LOUISE BARNES

Degas, Picasso, Van Gogh. Rauschenberg, Whistler. The Impressionists, Modernists and Cubists. German Expressionism, Surrealism. The broad sweep of modern art is on display at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki.

A Century of Modern Art traces the development of the European Impressionist movement and the schools that followed. The collection, on loan from Toledo Museum of Art in Ohio (which is undergoing renovations) is considered among the world's best.

Sophie Matthiesson, the gallery's senior curator of international art, says the 57 pieces by 53 artists are "a beautiful survey" that includes "stellar examples of key art movements and key figures in those art movements".

The Toledo museum was founded in 1901 by glassmaker and art collector Edward Drummond Libbey, and the museum continually added to the collection by acquiring one or two key pieces from artists of the day. The quality is reflected in the works that have come to Auckland.