Colby College acquires rare Matisse

Molly Enking, Maine Public, July 20, 2026

The Colby College Museum of Art has acquired a rare screen print by the French artist Henri Matisse.

"It is an artwork that, when you walk into the gallery, it just stops you in your tracks," said Jacqueline Terrassa, Director of the Colby College Museum of Art.

Titled "Océanie, le ciel," the monumental 1946 work is significant because it was early on in Matisse's experimentation with the cutouts he is now famous for, said Terrassa.