Lecture Series: The Making of the Great Museums of Paris—From 1900 Until Today

Following our previous Zoom series during the winter of 2024 tracing the history and heritage of the extraordinary museums that were established in Paris starting during the Revolution and continuing through the end of the 19th century, we continue the story over the past 125 years with, after an introductory lecture, presentations by the curators and directors of a “house museum”, a “Presidential museum”, a “private museum”, and a brand-new museum still in the making:

Lecture: The Making of the Great Museums of Paris Since 1900—Introduction

Russell Kelley will set the stage for the museums founded in Paris since the turn of the 20th century, and especially since the beginning of the Fifth Republic in 1958, introducing the four museums that will be the subject of individual lectures in this series, among many others, and highlighting the major trends in museums over the past 125 years.

Lecture: The Making of the Great Museums of Paris—The Making & Remaking of the Nissim de Camondo Museum

Ariane James-Sarazin will tell the story of the banker Moïse de Camondo and the hôtel particulier he built next to the Parc Monceau between 1911 and 1914 to display his collection of French decorative art from the second half of the 18th century.

Lecture: The Making of the Great Museums of Paris—The Making & Remaking of the Louvre Museum

What is the most iconic monument in Paris? The Louvre stands out since it represents more than eight hundred years of evolution, spanning the history of modern Paris from the construction of the medieval fortress by Philippe-Auguste in 1200, to the construction of the Grande Galerie by Henri IV in 1600, to the inauguration of the first museum in Paris in 1793, to the creation of the Nouveau Louvre by Napoléon III in the 1850s, to François Mitterrand’s inauguration of I.

Lecture: The Making of the Great Museums of Paris—The Making and Remaking of the Fondation Cartier

Béatrice Grenier will explain how the programming and collection of the Fondation Cartier Pour l’Art Contemporain has evolved since it first opened in Jouy-en-Josas in 1984 as the first major art museum in France created by a private foundation; then moved to the glass building on Boulevard Raspail designed by architect Jean Nouvel in 1994; and moved again on October 25, 2025, to the building on Place du Palais Royal next to the Louvre formerly occupied by Louvre des Antiquaires and renovated by Jean Nouvel.

Conférence: La création des grands musées de Paris—La création du Musée du grand siècle (in French with English or French captions)

[English follows] Alexandre Gady décrira les nombreuses étapes de la création d’un musée entièrement nouveau, le Musée du Grand Siècle—le XVIIe siècle de Louis XIII et Louis XIV—dont l’ouverture est prévue fin 2027 : la constitution de sa collection, la construction du bâtiment pour l’exposer, le recrutement d’une équipe de conservateurs et autres professionnels pour gérer sa collection et organiser sa programmation ainsi que le financement d’un projet aussi ambitieux.