Skip to main content

Masterpieces of Eighteenth Century French Art Lent by the Museums of France, September 16-November 13, 1949

 Sub-Series

Scope and Contents

A collection of 18th century paintings, drawings, and tapestries lent by eighteen Museums of France in commemoration of the Legion of Honor’s 25th anniversary, presented alongside furniture and decorative arts from the Museum’s permanent collection. Lenders included the Louvre and the museums of Amiens, Angers, Besançon, Carnavalet, Compiegne, La Fère, Le Havre, Lyon, Nantes, Orléans, Reims, Rouen, Saint-Omer, Strasbourg, Tours, Valenciennes, and Versailles. The exhibition included the works of twenty-three artists: Boucher, Chardin, Cochin (the younger), Desportes, de Troy, Fragonard, Greuze, Lambert, Lancret, Lépicié, le Prince, Moreau le Jeune, Nattier, Oudry, Perronneau, Portail, Hubert Robert, Roslin, Gabriel de Saint-Aubin, Mme. Vigée-Lebrun, Vincent, Volaire, and Watteau. This collection of art was intended to not only display the works of 18th century master artists- namely Boucher, Chardin, Fragonard, and Watteau- but would grant visitors the opportunity to see the lesser known collections of provincial French museums. In total, 32 paintings, 24 drawings, and 4 tapestries were lent by French museums. Charles Sterling, Curator of Paintings at the Louvre, arranged the loans for this exhibition. A French organizing committee comprised of curators from the Louvre and authorities from the French National Museums and French Provincial museums coordinated the exhibition in partnership with the Legion of Honor.
The exhibition records span thirteen folders and include an exhibition description, object lists, lender lists & requested objects, lender correspondence, rejected lender correspondence, shipping and insurance correspondence, shipping correspondence with the U.S. Navy, planning correspondence, press releases and publicity correspondence, event and lecture information and related correspondence, correspondence with French mayors, Honorary Committee invitations and correspondence, catalog planning correspondence and draft, complimentary catalog correspondence, future exhibition correspondence, general correspondence, and registration receipts. Newspaper clippings are in the clipping collection. Installation photographs prints and negatives are in the photograph collection. Object photograph negatives are in the photograph quarantine box. Copies of the exhibition catalogs are in the catalog collection.

Dates

  • Creation: September 16-November 13, 1949

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

At this time, the exhibition records are unavailable to the public and will only be made available to FAMSF staff upon request.

Biographical / Historical

The California Palace of the Legion of Honor celebrated its 25th anniversary in 1949. The Museum was presented to the City of San Francisco by Adolph and Alma Spreckels as a memorial to the California men who lost their lives in the first World War. Architecturally, the building is based upon the historic Palai de la Légion d'Honneur located in Paris, France. A reproduction of the Palais served as the French Pavilion at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition, which inspired Alma to found a museum that was a permanent replica of the structure. Unfortunately, wartime disruptions delayed the completion of the Legion of Honor Museum until 1924. The building was completed under San Francisco architect George Applegarth, in collaboration with Paris architect Henri Guillaume. It was dedicated on Veterans Day (then Armistice Day).

The collections at the time of inauguration included: works of Rodin, Egyptian and Classical artifacts, silver and porcelain from the Spreckels family; 18th century French paintings, sculpture, tapestries, furniture, and porcelain from Archer M. Huntington; 16th through 19th century paintings by masters of European art schools from Henry K.S. and Mildred Anna Williams; and paintings, sculpture, and decorative arts from Albert Campbell Hooper. Individual gifts and bequests benefiting the permanent collection were given by Albert M. Bender, Mortimer Leventritt, and James D. Phelan.

In recognition of this significant anniversary, a collection of 18th century French art was exhibited, honoring the inaugural exhibition of 19th and 20th century French art. That 1924 exhibition was organized by the French Government for the purpose of celebrating the Legion of Honor’s opening. A special emphasis had been placed on collecting and exhibiting the art of France during that first quarter of a century. This exhibition of 18th century French art paid tribute to the important relationship between the Legion of Honor and France’s government and museums.

Source:
California Palace of the Legion of Honor. Exhibition Description for Masterpieces of Eighteenth Century French Art Lent by the Museums of France, n.d. Legion of Honor Exhibition Records, LH-ER. Fine Art Museums of San Francisco Archives.
California Palace of the Legion of Honor. Masterpieces of Eighteenth Century French Art Lent by the Museums of France. San Francisco: Legion of Honor, 1949. Published in conjunction with an exhibition of the same title, organized by and presented at the Legion of Honor, September 16-November 13, 1949. "

Extent

0.5 Linear Feet (The exhibition records span thirteen folders and include an exhibition description, object lists, lender lists & requested objects, lender correspondence, rejected lender correspondence, shipping and insurance correspondence, shipping correspondence with the U.S. Navy, planning correspondence, press releases and publicity correspondence, event and lecture information and related correspondence, correspondence with French mayors, Honorary Committee invitations and correspondence, catalog planning correspondence and draft, complimentary catalog correspondence, future exhibition correspondence, general correspondence, and registration receipts. Newspaper clippings are in the clipping collection. Installation photographs prints and negatives are in the photograph collection. Object photograph negatives are in the photograph quarantine box. Copies of the exhibition catalogs are in the catalog collection. )

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Additional Description

Abstract

A collection of 18th century paintings, drawings, and tapestries lent by eighteen Museums of France in commemoration of the Legion of Honor’s 25th anniversary, presented alongside furniture and decorative arts from the Museum’s permanent collection.

Arrangement

The materials are separated by content and type and organized chronologically.

Related Exhibitions

Legion of Honor: Inaugural Exposition of French Art in the California Palace of the Legion of Honor, 1924-1925 (1924)
Legion of Honor: Art Collection of Alma de Bretteville Spreckels (1926)
Legion of Honor: Reproductions of French Masterworks (1931)
Legion of Honor: Drawings by Corot, Loaned by Goodman-Walker, Inc., Boston, MA (1931)
Legion of Honor: James D. Phelan Memorial Collection of Drawings (1932)
Legion of Honor: ""Portrait of the Artist's Mother"" by James McNeill Whistler (1933)
Line Engravings by Robert Nanteuil (1933)
Legion of Honor: Exhibition of French Painting from the Fifteenth Century to the Present Day (1934)
Legion of Honor: Porcelains from the Collection of Mrs. A.B. Spreckels (1936)
de Young: Eighteenth Century Meissen: The Earliest European Porcelain (1940)
de Young: The Painting of France Since the French Revolution (1940)
de Young: French Drawings and Water Colors (1941)
de Young: The Painting of France Since the Revolution (encore) (1941)
de Young: French Revolutionary Ideals in Graphic Art (1941)
Legion of Honor: Tapestries from the Fifteenth to the Eighteenth Centuries (1943)
de Young: French 18th Century Art from the Collection of Edward-Anthony Montgomery (1934)
Legion of Honor: Painting in France, 1939-1946 (1947)
de Young: Watercolors of Flowers by Pancrace Bessa (c. 1772-1835) (1947)
Legion of Honor: France Come to You: French Paintings from San Francisco Collections (1948)
de Young: Merci Train (1949)
de Young: Illusionism and Trompe l'Oeil: A History of Painting That Fools the Eye (1949)
de Young: Baroque and Rococo Drawings (1953)
Legion of Honor: Masterpieces of Drawing from the Museum at Besancon France (1955)
de Young: Continental Table Porcelain of the Eighteenth Century (1965)
Legion of Honor: Prints of the French Eighteenth Century (1970)
Legion of Honor: Eighteenth Century British Paintings from the Museum's Collections (1970)
Legion of Honor: The Barbizon Tradition (Art in France in the 19th Century) (1977)
Legion of Honor: Heritage of France (1979)
Legion of Honor: The Brothers Le Nain: Painters of 17th-Century France (2017)

Separated Materials

The clippings are housed within the Legion of Honor Exhibition Clippings collection in box 1. Installation and photograph prints and negatives are housed in the Legion of Honor Exhibition Photograph collection in box 6. Object photograph negatives are housed in the exhibition photo quarantine box in the FAMSF Archives. Ask the Archivist for access. Copies of the exhibition catalogs are in the catalog collection. The exhibition catalog is housed in the Legion of Honor Exhibition Catalog collection in box 5. The Bulletin of the California Palace of the Legion of Honor Vol. 6, No. 5 & 6 served as an additional exhibition catalog and is available in the Legion of Honor Exhibition Catalog collection in box 2.

Subjects

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco Archives Repository

Contact:
50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr
San Francisco California 94118 USA

View Staff Interface | Visit ArchivesSpace.org | v3.5.0