Richard Anacréon Museum of Modern Art

An immersion in the artistic Paris of the XXᵉ century

The Richard Anacréon Museum of Modern Art brings together 280 works of art and 550 books lined with autographs, bookplates and other annotations synonymous with juicy anecdotes about the lives of fashionable artists of the first half of the XXᵉ century. The books are rare editions and the big names are numerous: Apollinaire, Barbey d’Aurevilly, Cendrars, Cocteau, Claudel, Colette, Farrère, Duhamel, Genet, Jouhandeau, Loti, Mac Orlan, Montherlant, Suarès, Valéry.

Richard Anacréon, the man behind the museum

Richard Anacréon was born in 1907 in the Upper Town, rue Saint-Jean. At the age of 17, amazed by the artistic effervescence of Paris, he left for the capital to live in this cultural melting pot. After a few years, he joined the newspaper Le Petit Parisien as a messenger. It is to be imagined that this was the time when fashionable authors published serials in the general newspapers. The young Anacréon therefore had the opportunity to meet and rub shoulders with literary men and women such as Colette, Cocteau and Valéry. This was the beginning of a formidable springboard to achieve his dream…

In 1940, it was the occupation. Le Petit Parisien was transformed into a propaganda tool. Richard Anacréon, motivated by his friends Colette and Valéry, embarked on his own adventure. He opened “l’Originale”, in the heart of the Latin Quarter, a bookshop specialising in the sale of original editions. Anacréon quickly became known locally not only thanks to his circle of friends, but also thanks to his colourful personality. Funny, cultured… The testimonies evoke an eloquence very much appreciated by the customers and friends passing through his temple dedicated to fine literature and bibliophily in general.

After a hectic life, the man died in Granville in 1992. His collection was then bequeathed to the town. A museum was then created in the former Paul Bert public school, place de l’Isthme.

Exhibition 2023: “Bons Baisers de Granville”

From 15 April to 5 November 2023, the Richard Anacréon Museum of Modern Art in Granville presents its exhibition “Bons Baisers de Granville”. This is the first season of a cycle of exhibitions in three chapters. These will present the past of Granville. At once a seaside resort, a corsair town and a port district, this town has taken on multiple facets according to the centuries and the seasons of the year. If we know that it lives to the rhythm of the tides, then we will learn that Granville also knows how to live to the rhythm of the seasons, the centuries and History…

From 2023 to 2025, the collections of the Museum of Art and History will be honoured at the Richard Anacreon Museum of Modern Art. From the royal foundation in the 15th century to the blossoming of the seaside resort and shellfish port of today, the collections of the Granville Museum of Art and History tell the story of the town, its myths and its history.