Thanks to the generosity of the Christian Humann Foundation, the Masterworks Foundation is now the proud owner of another work by French painter Albert Léon Gleizes.

"The gouache painting, 'Houses in Bermuda, the Governor's House, 1917', is a most important collection painting, and will complete a circle of four other pieces owned by Masterworks," the Foundation's collections manager, Elise Outerbridge, said. "The other pieces are a portrait of Gleizes' wife, Juliette Roche; a watercolour of Pitts Bay; and two renditions of 'Maison du Gouverneur', one in watercolour and the other in gouache. A private collector on the Island owns the final oil in this series."

Mrs. Outerbridge described the new acquisition as "an illustration of the artist's creative process and obvious fascination with the topic he chose to flesh out".

Gleizes was a colleague of both Robert Delauney and Jean Metzinger, with whom he co-authored 'De Cubisme', a treatise on Cubism, in 1912.

The artist travelled to Bermuda with his bride, Juliette, in 1917. Whilst here he exchanged ideas on the theories of the emerging Modernist movement with Marsden Hartley and Charles Demnuth, who were also in Bermuda at the time.

It is noted by art historians that 1917 produced the most important Bermuda-inspired work to date, as all of the above-mentioned artists applied techniques in later works which were initial experiments during their Bermuda visits.

"We feel the addition of 'House in Bermuda, the Governor's House' enhances the overall importance of the Foundation's collection, and serves as an invaluable learning tool in understanding the artistic process," Mrs. Outerbridge said. "Masterworks is very grateful to the Humann Foundation for its generosity, and we look forward to hanging the new Gleizes painting in pride of place when the Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art opens in March, 2008."

The painting may also be seen on website www.bermudamasterworks.com