Léon Gard (12 July 1901 - 12 November 1979) was a French painter and art critic.
Gard was born in Tulle, Limousin. His family moved to Morigny, Normandy, and then to the 13th arrondissement of Paris. Gard at an early age started to express his artistic gifts. In 1913, at the age of twelve he drew a self-portrait in charcoal. Two years later he wrote to Louis Metman, the curator of the Museum of Decorative Arts, who took him under his wing and enr...
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Léon Gard (12 July 1901 - 12 November 1979) was a French painter and art critic.
Gard was born in Tulle, Limousin. His family moved to Morigny, Normandy, and then to the 13th arrondissement of Paris. Gard at an early age started to express his artistic gifts. In 1913, at the age of twelve he drew a self-portrait in charcoal. Two years later he wrote to Louis Metman, the curator of the Museum of Decorative Arts, who took him under his wing and enrolled him in the Académie Ranson. He found a job as a notarial clerk. At sixteen, he copied old paintings for a play, "Petite reine" (the story of an antique dealer and a forger), adapted by Gabriel Signoret whose portrait he later painted.
Gard was seventeen when he exhibited for the first time in the Salon d'Automne (Autumn Gallery) with his portrait of Metman. He received a special award and was proposed as a member. This early success was not repeated and Gard later said ironically: "Was my work so bad, or were these gentlemen of the jury...
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