George Viau

George Viau (28 March 1855 – 18 December 1939) was a French dentist and art collector. His collection, which was built up and sold off more than once, included work by many impressionist painters and the artists who influenced them. Viau's dental practice was at number 47 Boulevard Haussmann, where one of his patients was Claude Monet.[1][2]

George Viau
Oil painting of a dentist in a white coat with a beard, in his office, examining a female patient. Two framed paintings are on the wall behind him.
Édouard Vuillard, Le Docteur Georges Viau dans son cabinet dentaire (1914, "Doctor Georges Viau in his dental office")
Born(1855-03-28)March 28, 1855
Nancy, France
DiedDecember 18, 1939(1939-12-18) (aged 84)
Paris
NationalityFrench
OccupationDentist
Known forArt collecting

The collection sold in 1907 included works by, among others, Boudin, Carrière, Cassatt, Cézanne, Dagnan-Bouveret, Daumier, Degas, Delacroix, Gauguin, Guillaumin, Jongkind, Lebourg, Lépine, Manet, Monet, Morisot, Pissarro, Renoir, Sisley, and Vignon.[3][4]

A collection of more than 200 paintings owned by Viau went to Wilhelm Hansen, whose collection formed the basis of the Ordrupgaard museum.[5] After Viau's death, the Hôtel Drouot auctioned paintings from his estate. One Cézanne in that collection sold for over 5 million francs, and the auction brought in 53 million francs in all.[6]

A portrait of Viau painted by Édouard Vuillard in 1914 is held at the Musée d'Orsay.[7]

References
  1. Roquebert, Anne (2006). "A Widening Circle: Vollard and His Clients". In Rabinow, Rebecca A. (ed.). Cézanne to Picasso: Ambroise Vollard, Patron of the Avant-garde. Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 222. ISBN 978-1-58839-195-7.
  2. Baron, Wendy (2006). Sickert: Paintings and Drawings. Yale University Press. p. 260. ISBN 0-300-11129-0.
  3. Valemont (1 March 1907). "La Collection George Viau". Le Figaro. p. 1.
  4. "Echos". Le Journal. 2 March 1907. p. 1. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  5. Glueck, Grace (21 June 2002). "The Treasures of a Private Collector, From Copenhagen". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  6. Campbell Karlsgodt, Elizabeth (2011). Defending National Treasures: French Art and Heritage Under Vichy. Stanford University Press. p. 228. ISBN 978-0-8047-7018-7.
  7. "Edouard Vuillard: Le docteur Georges Viau dans son cabinet dentaire". Musée d'Orsay. Retrieved 11 August 2018.

Further reading
  • Chevallier, Paul (1907). Collection De M. George Viau. Durand-Ruel Galleries.
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