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Texas Couple Pledges Art Collection to the Musée D’Orsay American Couple Pledges Art Collection to the Musée D’Orsay
(4 days later)
PARIS — Two art collectors from Texas, Marlene and Spencer Hays, have pledged the Musée d’Orsay here the largest foreign collection of art to be donated to France since World War II — more than 600 masterworks from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including works by Pierre Bonnard, Edouard Vuillard, Amedeo Modigliani and Henri Matisse. PARIS — Two art collectors from the United States, Marlene and Spencer Hays, have pledged the Musée d’Orsay here the largest foreign collection of art to be donated to France since World War II — more than 600 masterworks from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including works by Pierre Bonnard, Edouard Vuillard, Amedeo Modigliani and Henri Matisse.
The couple, both 80 years old, signed an agreement with the French state on Saturday at the Élysée Palace in a ceremony in which President François Hollande named them both commanders of the Legion of Honor.The couple, both 80 years old, signed an agreement with the French state on Saturday at the Élysée Palace in a ceremony in which President François Hollande named them both commanders of the Legion of Honor.
In 2013, 187 works valued at 173 million euros ($188 million) were shown at the museum in “A Passion for France: The Marlene and Spencer Hays Collection,” an exhibition organized in part by Guy Cogeval, the president of the Musée d’Orsay and Musée de l’Orangerie and a key player in securing the donation.In 2013, 187 works valued at 173 million euros ($188 million) were shown at the museum in “A Passion for France: The Marlene and Spencer Hays Collection,” an exhibition organized in part by Guy Cogeval, the president of the Musée d’Orsay and Musée de l’Orangerie and a key player in securing the donation.
The works will be transferred to France upon the couple’s deaths, and the Musée d’Orsay has agreed to display their collection intact in a dedicated space in the museum rather than dispersing the works throughout the galleries.The works will be transferred to France upon the couple’s deaths, and the Musée d’Orsay has agreed to display their collection intact in a dedicated space in the museum rather than dispersing the works throughout the galleries.
The Hays’s collection is particularly strong in post-Impressionist works by the Nabis, including Bonnard, Vuillard, Maurice Denis, Odilon Redon, Aristide Maillol and André Derain. It also includes works by Edgar Degas and Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot.The Hays’s collection is particularly strong in post-Impressionist works by the Nabis, including Bonnard, Vuillard, Maurice Denis, Odilon Redon, Aristide Maillol and André Derain. It also includes works by Edgar Degas and Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot.
Mr. Hays is the founder of the Tom James Company, which makes bespoke clothing. He grew up in Oklahoma — “north of the Red River that John Wayne made famous,” he said in a 2013 conversation with the Musée d’Orsay. The couple began buying art in the early 1970s and first visited France in 1971, returning every year since.Mr. Hays is the founder of the Tom James Company, which makes bespoke clothing. He grew up in Oklahoma — “north of the Red River that John Wayne made famous,” he said in a 2013 conversation with the Musée d’Orsay. The couple began buying art in the early 1970s and first visited France in 1971, returning every year since.
“We were both raised in a small town,” Mr. Hays told Franceinfo radio this weekend. “We didn’t have any money. Back then, the only thing I knew about Paris and France was the city called Paris, Tex., 70 kilometers from where I lived.”“We were both raised in a small town,” Mr. Hays told Franceinfo radio this weekend. “We didn’t have any money. Back then, the only thing I knew about Paris and France was the city called Paris, Tex., 70 kilometers from where I lived.”
In 2001, the couple bought Modigliani’s 1917 portrait of the artist Chaim Soutine (which he had painted on the back of their gallerist’s door). “We love the Modigliani a lot,” Ms. Hays said in the 2013 conversation. “It was painted on a door. I think they were dead drunk and didn’t have any canvas,” she added.In 2001, the couple bought Modigliani’s 1917 portrait of the artist Chaim Soutine (which he had painted on the back of their gallerist’s door). “We love the Modigliani a lot,” Ms. Hays said in the 2013 conversation. “It was painted on a door. I think they were dead drunk and didn’t have any canvas,” she added.
Mr. Hays has said that Vuillard is his favorite painter. “I love his way of painting, his colors, the flatness of some of his compositions,” he said in the 2013 conversation. “I love that he always painted his friends.”Mr. Hays has said that Vuillard is his favorite painter. “I love his way of painting, his colors, the flatness of some of his compositions,” he said in the 2013 conversation. “I love that he always painted his friends.”
They house their collection in their New York apartment and in Nashville, Tenn., where they built a duplicate of the Hôtel de Noirmoutier, the former residence of the prefect of the Île-de-France region, located in the sixth arrondissement here.They house their collection in their New York apartment and in Nashville, Tenn., where they built a duplicate of the Hôtel de Noirmoutier, the former residence of the prefect of the Île-de-France region, located in the sixth arrondissement here.