ⓘ Opening hours and admission prices listed on this page are indicative and subject to change. Always verify current information on the official website of each venue before your visit.
Musée d'Orsay, Paris
Major Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works on level 5 – book online to skip the queue
The Musée d'Orsay holds Renoir's most important large-scale Impressionist paintings. The centerpiece is Bal du moulin de la Galette (1876), a nearly two-metre-wide canvas depicting an open-air dance at a Montmartre guinguette, exhibited at the third Impressionist exhibition in 1877. Other key works on level 5 include La Balançoire (The Swing, 1876), painted in the same Montmartre garden; Chemin montant dans les hautes herbes (Path Through Tall Grass, c. 1875); and several portraits and nudes from the 1880s and 1890s. The collection documents Renoir's evolution from plein-air Impressionism through his more classical later period. Open Tue-Sun 9:30-18:00 (Thursdays until 21:45). Closed Mondays.
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Musée de l'Orangerie, Paris
25 Renoir paintings in the Walter-Guillaume collection – lower level
The Musée de l'Orangerie holds 25 Renoir paintings as part of the Walter-Guillaume collection, displayed in the lower-level galleries. The collection is particularly strong on his later work: nudes, family portraits, still lifes, and Southern French landscapes. Key works include Femme nue dans un paysage (c. 1883), Claude Renoir en clown (1909), and Gabrielle et Jean (c. 1895-1896). The paintings were collected by art dealer Paul Guillaume and then expanded by his widow Domenica Walter, who favored Renoir and Cézanne above all. After visiting the Renoir rooms, take the stairs up to see Monet's Water Lilies on the ground floor. Located in the Jardin des Tuileries, a short walk across the Seine from the Musée d'Orsay. Open Wed-Mon 9:00-18:00. Closed Tuesdays.
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Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia
181 paintings – the world's largest Renoir collection, spanning his full career
The Barnes Foundation holds 181 Renoir paintings, more than any other institution in the world. The collection was assembled by Dr. Albert Barnes and is especially strong on the late work (post-1892): large-scale nudes, landscapes, and intimate family scenes that other collectors avoided. The paintings are displayed in Barnes's original wall ensembles, arranged according to his formalist principles rather than chronology. This means Renoirs hang alongside Cézanne, Matisse, and African sculpture in deliberate visual pairings. The collection moved from its original location in Merion to a purpose-built museum on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in 2012. Open Thu-Mon 11:00-17:00 (Fridays until 21:00). Adults $30.
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The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC
Home to Luncheon of the Boating Party (1880-1881) – Gallery 201
The Phillips Collection is built around what its founder Duncan Phillips called "one of the greatest paintings in the world": Renoir's Luncheon of the Boating Party (1880-1881). This large canvas (130 x 175 cm) depicts 14 of Renoir's friends gathered on the terrace of the Maison Fournaise restaurant in Chatou, along the Seine. It was Renoir's last fully Impressionist large-scale painting before he moved toward a more classical style. The woman with the dog at lower left is Aline Charigot, his future wife; the man in the white singlet at lower right is fellow painter Gustave Caillebotte. Phillips acquired the painting in 1923 for $125,000. America's first museum of modern art. Open Tue-Sun 10:00-17:00.
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The Phillips Collection (official site)
National Gallery, London
The Umbrellas, At the Theatre, The Skiff, and more – free admission
The National Gallery holds a strong selection of Renoir paintings. The most significant is The Umbrellas (Les Parapluies, c. 1881-1886), a painting that shows Renoir's stylistic transition: the figures on the right are painted in a loose Impressionist manner, while the woman on the left uses the harder, more linear style he developed after his trip to Italy. Other works include At the Theatre (La Première Sortie, 1876-1877), acquired through the Courtauld Fund; The Skiff (La Yole); Dancing Girl with Castanets and Dancing Girl with Tambourine (a decorative pair); and Moulin Huet Bay, Guernsey (1883). Free entry; no booking needed for the permanent collection. Open daily 10:00-18:00 (Fridays until 21:00).
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Courtauld Gallery, London
La Loge (The Theatre Box, 1874) – Somerset House, Strand
The Courtauld Gallery holds one of Renoir's most celebrated single paintings: La Loge (The Theatre Box, 1874), shown at the first Impressionist group exhibition in Paris. The painting established Renoir as a major figure in the movement. It depicts a couple in a theatre box, the woman in an elaborate striped dress with pearl jewellery, while her companion scans the audience with opera glasses. The Courtauld also holds other Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works that provide context for Renoir's circle. Located at Somerset House, a 15-minute walk from the National Gallery. Open daily 10:00-18:00. Admission £16 (free for under-18s and Courtauld students).
Courtauld Gallery (official site)
Art Institute of Chicago
Two Sisters (On the Terrace, 1881) and 24 other works
The Art Institute holds 25 Renoir works, anchored by Two Sisters (On the Terrace, 1881), one of his most reproduced paintings. It was painted on the same terrace of the Maison Fournaise in Chatou where he composed Luncheon of the Boating Party. Other notable works include Seascape (1879), Lunch at the Restaurant Fournaise (The Rowers' Lunch, 1875), and several drawings and prints. The Impressionist wing places Renoir alongside Monet, Cézanne, and Degas. Open daily 11:00-18:00 (Thursdays until 20:00).
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The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Madame Charpentier and Her Children (1878) and other key works
The Met holds several important Renoir paintings in the Impressionist and Modern Art galleries on the second floor. The centerpiece is Madame Georges Charpentier and Her Children (1878), the large-scale society portrait that brought Renoir his first major Salon success in 1879. Other works include Young Girl Bathing (1892) from the Robert Lehman Collection, and A Waitress at Duval's Restaurant (c. 1875). The collection documents both his Impressionist period and his later turn toward more monumental figure painting. Allow at least 90 minutes for the second floor.
Met Museum guided tour
Musée Renoir, Cagnes-sur-Mer
Renoir's last home – 14 original paintings, 40 sculptures, preserved studio
The Musée Renoir preserves the Domaine des Collettes, the neo-Provençal villa where Renoir lived from 1908 until his death in 1919. Despite severe rheumatoid arthritis that eventually confined him to a wheelchair with brushes strapped to his hands, Renoir continued painting and took up sculpture in collaboration with Richard Guino. The museum displays 14 original paintings (including Les Grandes Baigneuses, 1901-1902, and landscapes of the surrounding countryside), 40 sculptures, his preserved studio with original easel and wheelchair, and family photographs. The three-hectare garden with centuries-old olive trees, orange groves, and Mediterranean views toward Cap d'Antibes is itself a highlight. Closed Tuesdays. Admission €6. Reachable from Nice (20 min by train to Cagnes-sur-Mer station, then bus C49 or 15-minute walk uphill).
Musée Renoir (official site)
