70 % of the 1, 2 million visitors at Musée de l’Armée are foreigners and the largest group is American. So you will be pleased to learn that, after four years of works and 15 M € spent under the architects Antoine Dufour , two new galleries have been opened, one dedicated to the history of Hotel des Invalides founded … Read More
An aristocratic week end in the Sarthe and the Mayenne
A friend of mine, Sabine de La Rochefoucauld, invited me to the ordination of her son Bernard, a thirty three year old graduate of the ESCP business school and a handsome boy. For the last two months, I was utterly excited to be able to witness this “wedding with God”, which such few men undertake nowadays. And so I planned … Read More
Back to New York after six years and full of new discoveries
I had not returned to the city since the pandemic and went to attend the Memorial for writer and Pulitzer Prize winner, Ted Morgan who died last December. It took place at the Century association and was mostly a family affair, with his daughter Amber de Gramont (who recently retrieved her family name) and his son Gabriel Morgan, both speaking … Read More
From the beaches of the Coromandel peninsula to the National Gallery of Victoria, what a life!
New Zealand and Australia are two very distinct countries and I would never dare compare them, but I had such a wonderful time in both, that I will share again two small experiences. A week long stay on Otama beach, 3 hours Northeast of Auckland, and a fabulous visit of the Ian Potter centre, the Australian art collection of Melbourne’s … Read More
Abu Dhabi is an emirate to discover
The stopover in Abu Dhabi on my way to Auckland, NZ, was only prompted by the tempting offer made by Etihad Airways to stay for a few nights. Well not only actually, since my nephew and his wife live there and they had for a long time extended an invitation to come and visit. And of course, there was also … Read More
Anne and Patrick Poirier have a “sacred” project in Reims!
As we discovered with the Cité du Vitrail in Troyes (which many of you have commented on), stained glass windows are definitely attractive for contemporary artists and the new project developed between Centre des Monuments nationaux and Anne and Patrick Poirier is worth getting involved with. There was an intimate and friendly presentation of their project for the Musée des … Read More
Simon Vignaud, true magic in drawings
When you meet Simon Vignaud, you realize that the same charm and sensitivity exudes from him as from his drawings. It takes a little time to get into his very special atmosphere whether in Portugal or in Sicily, since all the works exhibited at Documents 15 (until February 3) are exceptionally intimate. Talking to him was an extra bonus. Trained … Read More
Didi Pei, an architect and a francophile
I met architect Didi Pei on the laguna of le Pyla in September 1986, drinking Château la Lagune. He died on December 13 from a heart attack at home in New York. At the time, he was overseeing the building of the Louvre pyramid for his father, I.M. Pei, and had moved to France for three years. Perfectly trilingual (Mandarin, … Read More