Feast your eyes upon scenes of Parisians dining in a bustling brasserie under gaslight lamps. Dogs wandering through a vibrant farmers’ market in the downtown square. Fishmongers and a prideful rat butcher. An excess of fruits, particularly pomegranates and apples, line the walls of the Seattle Art Museum’s (SAM) newest exhibit. 

“Farm to Table: Art, Food, and Identity in the Age of Impression” showcases over 50 works by notable Impressionist artists such as Claude Monet, Paul Gauguin, Eva Gonzalés and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, exploring the intersection of gastronomy and national identity in late 19th century France.

Organized by The American Federation of Arts in collaboration with The Chrysler Museum of Art, Farm to Table is curated by the Director of Collections and Exhibitions at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Andrew Eschelbacher. It is the only West Coast showing and the final stop on the exhibition’s national tour. 

“Visitors will discover how beloved Impressionists brought France’s culinary traditions to life on canvas and in other mediums. Each work invites us into a unique food story, from production and preparation to consumption, and shows how a nation in flux forged its modern identity around the shared experience of food,” SAM’s Ann M. Barwick Curator of American Art, Theresa Papanikolas, said in a press release. 

Papanikolas and Eschelbacher worked together to create a unique presentation of the exhibition. Usually housed in one of the fourth-floor galleries, Monet’s “Fishing Boats at Étretat” is one of the works on display in the temporary exhibition, making room for two new paintings that visitors can view temporarily in the “Impressionisms: The Global Nineteenth Century” gallery.

Farm to Table is organized into five sections, taking visitors from cultivation on the farm to the marketplace, and to more intimate settings such as candlelit dinners. When one enters the exhibit, they are promptly presented with a colossal portrait of a shepherd and his herd of sheep, the clouds above parting just enough to shed a glorifying light onto him. 

At the time agriculture and farmers were among many symbols of national pride, according to Papanikolas. Facing political upheaval and changing class and gender roles after the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, food and culinary traditions were key to notions of glory but also to shared struggles. “The Shepherd and his Flock” by Charles Emile Jacque is one of many works that express France’s nationalism during this tumultuous period.

“Think about how much happens over a meal in our lives. There’s a reason people gravitate towards it,” Eschelbacher said.

Located in the center of the exhibition, Farm to Table presents visitors with a dining table, set with an elegant tablecloth adorned with brass candelabras and floral arrangements, reminiscent of a still life painting. Reflective prompts like “What does farm-to-table mean to you?” border the table, creating a conversational setup that invites reflection on the elements inherent to food and gastronomic spaces, echoing the human sentiment that the French painters aimed to capture in their work.

Many of the works depict scenery familiar to the French. Cabbage patches and pastures. Hay harvesters and worm gatherers. Industrialized landscapes and markets. But paintings like Renoir’s “Champs de bananiers,” which depicts an Algerian banana field, a fruit notably not native to the European climate, contextualize the fact that France at this time had established colonies. As France’s socio-political landscape and emerging imperialism evolved, so did its food. 

Beginning with the 1870 Prussian siege of Paris (and the resulting food crisis) and continuing into the 1890s, the exhibition explores the era of Impressionism, and offers a new perspective on how the period depicted modern life at the crossroads of art, food and social politics.

“I can think of no better place than Seattle, a city known for its diverse culinary scene and commitment to sustainable sourcing, for this exhibition,” Scott Stulen, SAM’s Illsley Ball Nordstrom Director and CEO, said in a press release. “We look forward to welcoming visitors to this exhibition, which will be a feast for the eyes and an invitation to embrace creativity and meaning in food.”

Along with the exhibition, SAM will host a series of programs which include SAM Talks, the 2nd Thursday evenings of the following months, featuring speakers who will explore the themes and history presented in Farm to Table. A film series curated in partnership with Scarecrow Video and inspired by Farm to Table will also be shown on select Saturdays from Oct. 25 through Dec. 27.

Farm to Table will be available to view through Jan. 18, 2026.