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Ambrose Vollard, Editeur

DATES June 02, 1941 through September 21, 1941
ORGANIZING DEPARTMENT European Painting and Sculpture
COLLECTIONS European Art
  • June 6, 1941 The Vollard publications of prints and books will be exhibited, as a group, for the first time by the Museum’s department of Prints and Drawings in the Print and Balcony Galleries, 2nd floor, from June 6 through September 21. Some 20 books and 130 prints from the Albums will be shown.

    In 1896 and 1897 Vollar disused his Print Albums, and in 1900 he issued his first illustrated book, PARALLEMENT by Verlaine, with 110 lithographs in rose tone by Pierre Bonnard. The edition was limited to 200. His second venture in book published was DAPHNIS AND CHLOE by Longus, also illustrated by Bonnard. Since then he has published over 20 volumes in each which he stubbornly insisted on flawless impressions of type and illustrations regardless of effort or cost.

    Ambroise Vollard is best known as the Paris picture dealer who launched Cezanne and thereafter sponsored the Modern French artists from 1892 until his death. He is less known as a publisher of fine print albums and illustrated deluxe books. Possessing an uncanny ability to ferret out works of little known artists who were destined to be geniuses of the modern movement, Vollard became the friend and confidant of the artists whose work he handled. His shope became a storehouse for modern French art, ranging from Cezanne to Rouault. His policy of “buying low and selling high” soon brought him a large fortune which he in turn spent lavishly on publishing fine editions.

    Vollard’s interest was primarily in the artist and his illustrations. In his albums are to be found works of Bonnard, Bernard, Cezanne, Degas, Dufy, Denis, Fantin-Latour, Picasso, Redon, Renoir, Rouault, Sisley, Toulouse-Lautrec, Vollard and others.

    Vollard died in 1939. His two publications, THE PASSION and LE CIRQUE DE L’ETOILE FILANTE, were both, fittingly enough, illustrated with etchings in color and drawings by Georges Rouault. These prints and books not only represent the astute taste of the French picture dealer, Ambroise Vollard, but also represent forty-five years of modern French graphic art.


    Brooklyn Museum Archives. Records of the Department of Public Information. Press releases, 1939 - 1941. 04-06/1941, 129.
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