Preview: Toulouse-Lautrec and Friends” at the High”

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• Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, MOulin Rouge: La Goulue, 1891. Promised Gift of Irene and Howard Stein.

This Saturday, the High will open a few new exhibitions as a way to fill the gaping feeling of loss and absence left in the place of their now-finished Dalí late work retrospective. That massive second-floor exhibition space won’t be filled again until the middle of February, when MOMA’s comprehensive Henri Cartier-Bresson retrospective arrives, but this group of smaller exhibitions promises some nonetheless interesting moments.

One exhibition shows some great contemporary works from the collection Dorthy and Herb Vogel, otherwise known as the cutest art-collecting couple ever, the High shows off photographs, prints and drawings from their permanent collection in two separate exhibitions, and turn of the century French print-making and painting legend Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec gets an impressive show.

The Toulouse-Lautrec works come courtesy of a gift from Irene and Howard Stein, collectors befriended by High curator David Brenneman. During a press preview of the exhibition on Tuesday, Brenneman admitted that he hadn’t been that interested in the Stein’s Lautrec collection initially. Perhaps because of over-exposure through wall calendars and posters, some of the High’s audience may share that initial disinterest. Yet, Brenneman said finally seeing the works in person was like a “conversion experience,” finally experiencing the rich colors, scale, and compositions as they were intended.

You can check out a few images from the show after the jump and see them in person when the show opens this weekend.