The Wall Street Journal has a little bit on the opening of the newly renovated Lambert Collection which dealer Yvon Lambert donated to the French state in 2012. The 556 works of 20th Century art have been available to the public since July 10. Although the collection is now owned by the state, it is really Lambert’s private museum, a way to have a monument to himself even though he lacked the resources to create it. As such, the collection will only continue to drive the trend toward personal museums:
“I don’t have the means for a private museum, but I wanted to keep the collection intact. Donating to the state was my best solution,” Mr. Lambert said.
The museum inaugurated a new space for temporary exhibitions with a show focusing on Patrice Chéreau, a French opera and theater director and filmmaker who died in 2013. There’s also an exhibition featuring pieces from the main collection, including works by Christo, Richard Serra and Julian Schnabel.
“I’m from the south of France, and I wanted the art to be based in the south,” Mr. Lambert said. “I wanted to decentralize us away from Paris. On a train, we’re less than three hours away from Paris. It’s really not far.”
