The
Prix Blumenthal was a grant or
stipendA stipend is a form of salary, such as for an internship or apprenticeship. It is often distinct from a wage or a salary because it does not necessarily represent payment for work performed, instead it represents a payment that enables somebody to be exempt partly or wholly from waged or salaried...
awarded through the philanthropy of
Florence Meyer BlumenthalFlorence Meyer Blumenthal was a philanthropist who founded the Fondation franco-américaine Florence Blumenthal , which awarded the Prix Blumenthal from 1919-1954 to painters, sculptors, decorators, engravers, writers, and musicians — to promote Franco- American relations.For their altruism,...
(1875–1930) — and the foundation she created,
Fondation franco-américaine Florence Blumenthal (Franco-American Florence Blumenthal Foundation) — to discover young French artists, aid them financially, and in the process draw the United States and France closer together through the arts.
Winners were designated by seven juries in the fields of the literature, painting, sculpture, decorative arts, structure, engraving and music — to receive a
pursePrize money has a distinct meaning in warfare, especially naval warfare, where it was a monetary reward paid out to the crew of a ship for capturing an enemy vessel...
of six thousand francs per year, given for two years. The purse increased in 1926 until Blumenthal's death in 1930 to ten thousand francs for two years.
Jurors included philosopher
Henri BergsonHenri-Louis Bergson was a major French philosopher, influential especially in the first half of the 20th century. Bergson convinced many thinkers that immediate experience and intuition are more significant than rationalism and science for understanding reality.He was awarded the 1927 Nobel Prize...
; novelist
Roland DorgelèsRoland Dorgelès , was a French novelist and a member of the Académie Goncourt.Born Roland Lecavelé , he spent his childhood in Paris....
; novelist, essayist, diplomat and playwright
Jean GiraudouxHippolyte Jean Giraudoux was a French novelist, essayist, diplomat and playwright. He is considered among the most important French dramatists of the period between World War I and World War II. His work is noted for its stylistic elegance and poetic fantasy...
; writer Anna de Noailles; poet and essayist
Paul ValéryAmbroise-Paul-Toussaint-Jules Valéry was a French poet, essayist, and philosopher. His interests were sufficiently broad that he can be classified as a polymath...
; painter
Paul SignacPaul Signac was a French neo-impressionist painter who, working with Georges Seurat, helped develop the pointillist style.-Biography:Paul Victor Jules Signac was born in Paris on 11 November 1863...
, painter and printmaker
Edouard VuillardJean-Édouard Vuillard was a French painter and printmaker associated with the Nabis.-Early years and education:...
, sculptor
Paul LandowskiPaul Maximilien Landowski , a French monument sculptor of Polish ancestry. He was born in Paris to Polish refugees of the January Uprising, and died in Boulogne-Billancourt....
, painter and sculptor
Aristide MaillolAristide Maillol or Aristides Maillol was a French Catalan sculptor and painter.-Biography:...
, architect
Auguste PerretAuguste Perret was a French architect and a world leader and specialist in reinforced concrete construction. In 2005 his post-WWII reconstruction of Le Havre was declared by UNESCO one of the World Heritage Sites....
, composer
Paul DukasPaul Abraham Dukas was a French composer, critic, scholar and teacher. A studious man, of retiring personality, he was intensely self-critical, and he abandoned and destroyed many of his compositions...
, composer
Maurice RavelJoseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
and composer/conductor Guy Ropartz.
Composer
Georges MigotGeorges Migot was a prolific French composer. Though primarily known as a composer, he was also a poet, often integrating his poetry into his compositions, and an accomplished painter...
served as vice-president and subsequently as president (1931-1935) of the foundation, as well as the archivist of the winners.
Beginning in 1919 the foundation awarded nearly two hundred grants, and on April 11 1937, the Prix Blumenthal was declared
d'utilité publique ("of public service"), giving it a special tax classification. Awards were given through 1954. At the time of the foundation's dissolution in 1973 it was under the direction of Georges Huisman, director of the
école des Beaux-ArtsÉcole des Beaux-Arts refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The most famous is the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, now located on the left bank in Paris, across the Seine from the Louvre, in the 6th arrondissement. The school has a history spanning more than 350 years,...
, along with author
André MauroisAndré Maurois, born Emile Salomon Wilhelm Herzog was a French author.-Life:Maurois was born in Elbeuf and educated at the Lycée Pierre Corneille in Rouen, both in Normandy. Maurois was the son of Ernest Herzog, a Jewish textile manufacturer, and Alice Herzog...
and novelist
Roland DorgelèsRoland Dorgelès , was a French novelist and a member of the Académie Goncourt.Born Roland Lecavelé , he spent his childhood in Paris....
.
In 2010 (May 14-June 5), the Médiathèque of
Haguenau-Economy:The town has a well balanced economy. Centuries of troubled history in the buffer lands between France and Germany have bequeathed to Haguenau a rich historical and cultural heritage which supports a lively tourist trade. There is also a thriving light manufacturing sector centred on the...
hosted an exhibit of the Florence Blumenthal archives.
Florence Meyer Blumenthal
Florence Meyer Blumenthal had married international financier George Blumenthal in 1898 and in 1919, she organized what was originally called the
La Fondation américaine Blumenthal pour la pensée et l’art français (American Foundation for French Art and Thought) — a name suggested by her friend,
Paul ValéryAmbroise-Paul-Toussaint-Jules Valéry was a French poet, essayist, and philosopher. His interests were sufficiently broad that he can be classified as a polymath...
, the poet and essayist — and what ultimately became
Fondation franco-américaine Florence Blumenthal.
Blumethal's younger brother Eugene Meyer Jr. later become the president and publisher of the Washington Post — and was the father of Katherine Graham, editor of the Washington Post during Watergate. She was also related to
Levi StraussLevi Strauss was a German-Jewish immigrant to the United States who founded the first company to manufacture blue jeans. His firm, Levi Strauss & Co., began in 1853 in San Francisco, California.-Origins:...
through her sisters.
In 1925, Blumenthal moved to Paris with her husband, later donating to the
Children’s Hospital in ParisThe Hôpital Necker – Enfants Malades is a French teaching hospital, located in Paris, France. It is an hospital of the Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris group, and is affiliated to the University of Paris Descartes...
the
Metropolitan Museum of ArtThe Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
in New York, the
SorbonneThe Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
in Paris. Blumenthal died in Paris in 1930, at age fifty-five, having won, along with her husband, the French Legion of Honor the previous year.
Impact of the Prix
As an example of the impact of the Prix Blumenthal, textile artist
Paule MarrotPaule Marrot was a Parisian textile designer widely known for her textile prints with a flat, two-dimensional, upbeat style — often with a floral pattern. She experienced strong popularity in the U.S...
received the stipend in 1928, which allowed Marrot to open her workshop in
BatignollesBatignolles is a neighborhood of Paris, a part of the 17th arrondissement of the city. The neighborhood is bounded on the south by the Boulevard des Batignolles, on the east by the Avenue de Clichy, on the north by the Rue Cardinet, and on the west by the Rue de Rome.-History:Batignolles was an...
on rue Truffaut — where she became widely known for furniture textiles. Marrot went on to experience strong popularity and commercial success in the U.S. after World War II, made a strong impact at Renault by pioneering the company's textile and color division, and redefined furnishing fabrics in
FranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. In 1952 Marrot won in 1952, the French
Légion d'honneur (Legion of Honor)The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
, (
Chevalier) — and her textiles continue under license to diverse companies including
NikeNike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
,
AnthropologieUrban Outfitters, Inc. is a publicly traded American company that owns and operates five retail brands: Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Free People, Terrain, and BHLDN....
and the handbag maker,
Hayden-HarnettHayden-Harnett is a Brooklyn-based fashion company that produces handbags, accessories, and apparel, founded by Toni Hacker and Benjamin Harnett in 2005. Hayden-Harnett was recently chosen by Target Corporation to design a limited edition national diffusion collection for spring 2009 delivery at...
.
-
- See: Clayton Marcus chair for Rowe Furniture using Marrot Print
- See: Nike shoe using Marrot Print
Recipients
Partial list, by year of award:
1921
Georges MigotGeorges Migot was a prolific French composer. Though primarily known as a composer, he was also a poet, often integrating his poetry into his compositions, and an accomplished painter...
(1891-1976), composer, painter, and a carver
1921 René Buthaud, painter, engraver, ceramics See: René Buthaud at Wikipedia Français
1922
Maurice GenevoixMaurice Genevoix was a French author.Born on 29 November 1890 at Decize, Nièvre as Maurice-Charles-Louis-Genevoix, Genevoix spent his childhood in Châteauneuf-sur-Loire. After attending the local school, he studied at the lycée of Orléans and the Lycée Lakanal...
, writer
1922
Roger DésormièreRoger Désormière was a French conductor.Désormière was born in Vichy in 1898. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, where his professors included Philippe Gaubert , Xavier Leroux and Charles Koechlin , and Vincent d'Indy...
, conductor
1923 Paul Charlemagne (1892- ), painter
1923 Jean Adnet (1900–1995), painter
1924 Marcel (Antoine) Gimond (1894-1961)
1926
Paul BelmondoPaul Belmondo was a French sculptor. He is the father of the actor Jean-Paul Belmondo.-Biography :...
, sculptor
1926 Maurice Darmon (1943-?), author See:Maurice Darmon at Wikipedia Français
1926 Pierre Traverse (1892-1979), sculptor
1926
Paule MarrotPaule Marrot was a Parisian textile designer widely known for her textile prints with a flat, two-dimensional, upbeat style — often with a floral pattern. She experienced strong popularity in the U.S...
, textile artist
1926 Robert Siohan composer and conductor See: Robert Siohan at Wikipedia Français
1926
Robert Louis AntralRobert Antral was a French painter and printmaker, mainly of etchings. He won the Prix Blumenthal in 1926 and the Croix de guerre for his bravery in World War I.-Museum:...
, engraver, lithographer
1928 Robert Cami (1899-1975), engraver
1928
Manuel RosenthalManuel Rosenthal was a French composer and conductor who held leading positions with musical organizations in France and America...
, French composer and conductor
1929 Jacques Denier, painter See: Jacques Denier at Wikipedia Français
1930 Robert Couturier, sculptor
1930 André Jacquemin, painter
1930 Paul Pouchol (1904–1963), pottery
1932 Maurice Brianchon (1899-1979),painter
1932
Eugène DabitEugene Dabit was a French socialist writer.He was part of the group "proletarian literature" and had a great success for his short story collection Hôtel du Nord which won the du Prix du roman populiste and was filmed in 1938 by Marcel Carné...
, author
1932 Suzanne Tourte, engraver, painter See: Suzanne Tourte at Wikipedia Français
1934
Jean OberléJean Oberlé was a French painter who became a member of the French Resistance.Born in Brest in 1900, he illustrated a number of contemporary books and worked for different Parisian newspapers and magazines, of which le Crapouillot was the most important.He won the Prix Blumenthal in 1934.In 1940,...
, painter
1934 Christian Caillard (1899- ), fresco painting
1934 Pierre-Octave Ferroud (1900-1936), composer
1934 Henri Mahé (1907-1975), decorative painter
1935 André Leon Arbus (1903-1969), cabinet maker
1936
Germaine RichierGermaine Richier was a French sculptor.Born in Grans, Richier began her studies at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Montpellier; in 1926 she went to work with Antoine Bourdelle, remaining in his studio until his death in 1929. There she became acquainted with Alberto Giacometti, although the two were...
, sculptor
1938
Pierre CapdeviellePierre Capdevielle was a French conductor, composer, and music critic. In 1938 he was awarded the Prix Blumenthal and in 1948 he founded the Centre de documentation de musique internationale. For many years he was President of France's chapter of the International Society for Contemporary Music....
, conductor
1938 Jean-René Bazaine (1904- ), painting
1941
Jean FollainJean Follain, was a French author, poet and corporate lawyer. In the early days of his career he was a member of the "Sagesse" group. Follain was a friend of Max Jacob, André Salmon, Jean Paulhan, Pierre Pussy, Armen Lubin, and Pierre Reverdy...
, author and poet
1946 Jean Carton (1912-1988), painter, sculptor
1946 Guy Montis (1918-1976), painter
1946 Boris Taslitsky painter See: Boris Taslitsky at Wikipedia Français
1947 Jean Delpech, painter See: Jean Delpech at Wikipedia Français
1950 Bernard Cathelin, painter
1952 André Brasilier, (1929-) painter
1954 Maurice Legendre
1954 Gérard Blanchard, engraver See: Gérard Blanchard at Wikipedia Français
Undated:
Paul Coupille, painter at See: Paul Coupille at Wikipedia Français
Ida GotkovskyIda Rose Esther Gotkovsky is a French composer and pianist. She is currently a professor of music theory at the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique in France....
, French pianist and composer See: Ida Gotkovsky at Wikipedia Français
Marcel AyméMarcel Aymé was a French novelist, children's writer, humour writer and also a screenwriter and theatre playwright.- Biography :...
André ChamsonAndré Chamson was a French archivist, novelist and essayist. He was the father of the novelist Frédérique Hébrard.-Life:Chamson was born at , Nîmes, Gard....
Maurice GenevoixMaurice Genevoix was a French author.Born on 29 November 1890 at Decize, Nièvre as Maurice-Charles-Louis-Genevoix, Genevoix spent his childhood in Châteauneuf-sur-Loire. After attending the local school, he studied at the lycée of Orléans and the Lycée Lakanal...
Louis Neillot
Jacques Rivière