The Three Musicians

1925–1927

The international decorative arts exhibition and shows in the USA

In 1925–1927 Léger manages, with some difficulty, to exhibit an abstract panel at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts — in Le Corbusier's pavilion and in the Mallet-Stevens pavilion, which shows designs for a French embassy building. His work is shown at the Anderson Galleries in New York, at the Brooklyn Museum and at the Galerie des Quatre Chemins in Paris, and there is a solo retrospective at the Indépendants.

1928

A hundred works at Flechtheim's gallery in Berlin

In 1928 Léger exhibits a hundred works at Flechtheim's gallery in Berlin and gives a lecture; in the same year there is an exhibition of his work at the Galerie L'Effort moderne in Paris.

September – December 1931

First trip to the United States: New York and Chicago

Léger spends the summer of 1931 in Austria with his friends the Murphys and from September to December makes his first trip to the United States, to New York and Chicago. His work is shown at the galleries of John Becker and Durand-Ruel.

1933

An exhibition in Zurich and a trip to Greece with Le Corbusier

In 1933 a large exhibition of Léger's work is held at the Kunsthaus in Zurich, which he attends in person. In the same year he travels with Le Corbusier to Greece for the international congress of modern architecture, and on the ship home he gives a lecture, “Architecture and Life”.

1935

Exhibitions at MoMA and the Art Institute of Chicago

In October 1935 Léger again travels to the United States, where he meets Le Corbusier; in the same year a large exhibition of his work is shown at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and at the Art Institute of Chicago. In 1935 he also designs the physical-culture hall at the world's fair in Brussels, built to Charlotte Perriand's design.

1940–1945

The war years in exile in the United States

In 1940–1945 Léger lives in exile in the United States. He teaches at Yale University, where Focillon, Milhaud and Maurois also teach, gives “Composition with Two Parrots” to the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and in the summer gives a course of lectures at Mills College (Oakland, California), where he organizes an exhibition of his paintings.