Colby College Museum of Art Acquires Rare Matisse Cut-Out Textile, Océanie, le ciel

This acquisition brings a major work by Matisse into the Museum’s collection, substantially expanding its engagement with one of modernism’s central figures. The scale and significance of Océanie, le ciel further elevate the museum’s standing among peer institutions. A monumental Matisse of this caliber is rarely found outside a small number of the world’s foremost museums.

Océanie, le ciel stands as a pivotal work in the French artist’s late career, crystallizing his shift toward a “painting with scissors” cutout technique, or papier découpé, that would define his final decade. This mural-sized work was inspired by Matisse’s 1930 trip to Tahiti, where the intensity of light and the “enchantments” of the sea and sky left a lasting impression. These recollections are distilled into a vocabulary of highly abstracted marine forms—including fish, coral, and aquatic plants—contained within a rhythmic border of seaweed-like motifs. Matisse composed the work in situ by pinning cut-paper motifs directly to adjoining walls in his studio, marking the first time he worked in large-scale paper compositions in a process now considered a medium in its own right. He would adjust the shapes until achieving a dynamic equilibrium. 

These ephemeral wall compositions were later transposed into screenprints on linen through a close collaboration with textile designer Zika Ascher. Precise tracings of the fully realized arrangement were made, alongside individual studies of each cut form once unpinned. These elements were then reassembled as maquettes for silkscreen production, preserving the immediacy of the artist’s process while enabling wider dissemination. 

This large-scale, silkscreened linen panel was produced in an edition of 30 by Zika Ascher Ltd. in London. The extended interval between its design in 1946 and its production in 1948 reflects the exacting care devoted to achieving the proper weight and texture of the cloth, as well as a precise calibration of color. Notably, this period marked the first time the artist applied his cut-out approach to mural-sized works, creating a critical precedent for the monumental compositions that followed.

Over the course of his decades-long career, Matisse emerged as a central figure of modernism, renowned for his expressive use of color, flattened pictorial space, and radically simplified forms. His sustained investigation of the relationship between representation and abstraction profoundly shaped the trajectory of 20th-century art, influencing generations of artists, including key figures represented in the Colby Museum’s collection: Milton Avery, Marguerite Zorach, William Zorach, Ellsworth Kelly, and Alex Katz, the latter of whom will be the subject of an exhibition at the Musée Matisse in Nice later this year.

Reflecting their deep ties to the region since the 1940s, Josephine Merrill Eastman noted this contribution as a gift to both Colby and the state of Maine. After being displayed for more than 50 years in John L. Eastman's Manhattan office, the work’s donation reflects a shared vision between the Eastman family and Colby to use art as a tool for interdisciplinary study. In accordance with the terms of the Eastman family’s gift—and in recognition of John Eastman’s longstanding commitment to education—the work will be fully integrated into the Colby curriculum, offering students a direct encounter with an artist whose innovations helped define 20th-century art.

"Up until the last decade of his life, Matisse asked himself 'what if,' finding joy in new ways of making art. We are deeply grateful to the Eastman family for this extraordinary gift, which will continually inspire students and our broader community to engage in the critical thinking skills and creative experimentation necessary to navigate and shape our world," said Jacqueline Terrassa, Carolyn Muzzy Director of the Colby College Museum of Art.

The work is on view at the Colby Museum in the Sally and Michael Gordon Gallery.