Jacques Doucet (1853–1929) was a French couturier and art collector. He was active in Paris. He is one of the most famous fashion designers who not only collected art, but also supported artists and architects in their activity, asking them to shape the spaces in which he lived and worked.
Biography
Between 1896 and 1910, Doucet amassed an impressive collection of 18th-century artwork and furnishings. In 1912, he sold the entire collection at auction for a record-breaking $3 million, and he then focused on collecting 19th- and 20th-century artwork, furniture, and accessories. He gathered works by Cézanne, Van Gogh, Monet, Sisley, Degas, and Manet, among others. Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, which he acquired in 1920, and Henri Rousseau’s La Charmeuse de Serpents were among his possessions. He hired Pierre Legrain to create furniture and other accessories. Adler and Gray, Eileen. Along with others, Paul Iribe, Marcel Coard, and Jean-Charles Moreux. He purchased René Lalique glass doors, carpets, and a sculpture by Gustav Miklos. Degaine rugs, Joseph Hecht lacquered panels, Étienne Cournault-decorated mirrors, and Degaine lacquer and enamel work.
He met Miklos at the 1919 Salon des Indépendants, Adler at Ecole des Arts Décoratifs in 1923, and Lurçat at 1925 Paris ‘Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes.’
He bought pieces by Francis Picabia, Joan Miro, Max Ernst, and André Masson on André Breton’s recommendation. The studio-moderne annexe in the courtyard of Doucet’s wife’s home on Rue Saint-James in Neuilly, close to Paris, was constructed in 1926 by architect Paul Ruaud. There was a residence for Doucet at 43 Avenue du Bois (today, Avenue Foch). Paris: established the Institut d’Historie de l’Art et ‘Archéologie and the Doucet Library. After Doucet passed away in 1929, his Art Déco collection was kept intact until 1972, when it was auctioned off at another sensational sale at Galerie Drouot in Paris.
Sources
Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing. https://amzn.to/3ElmSlL
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