Well, Glasgow's Kelvingrove Art Gallery is going to have a facelift - and to keep the nice paintings clear of the dust and low-slung denim atrocities inflicted by the builders, they're sending 64 of them on a 10 month tour of the US.

Many of the paintings have not been shown outside of Scotland since their purchase in the late 19th/early 20th centuries, and they represent not only one of the most interesting periods of growth in the history of art, but also an exciting period in the purchase of art. It shows that, in the early years of the last century, buyers (avid patrons of the arts, idustrialists, and businessmen) were more interested in buying daring, unconventional works of their time, rather than focusing on the old masters.

The exhibition begins with canvases from the Barbizon school (e.g. Corot, Millet) and then into the development of Impressionism (Monet, Renoir) and finally post-impressionist work from Matisse and Picasso.

According to the museum, the list of paintings on tour includes works by Cezanne, Fantin-Latour, Van Gogh, and Edouard Vuillard.

All in all, it's an impressive haul they're sending across (except perhaps the Matisse, which I think looks like it should be mounted on some proud mother's fridge, but that's just me).

The confirmed locations for the exhibition are:

Louisville, Kentucky; Pittsburgh; Omaha, Nebraska; Albuquerque, N.M. (where Bugs Bunny should've taken that left turn); Quebec; Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Oklahoma City may be added as an extra date.

The tour lasts from October to next August, so if you're near any of those places and fancy seeing some pretty pictures, keep an eye out for the "From Millet to Matisse" Exhibition.

Bourne