Arthur Georges Veil-Picard (1854-1944), businessman and art collector, was a member of the Veil-Picard family, a French Jewish dynasty with roots going back before the French revolution.
Born in 1854 into the Veil-Picard French business and banking dynasty, Veil-Picard was the Director of Maison Pernod and an art collector.[1][2]
King of Absinthe
A major manufacturer of absinthe,[3] the Veil-Picard family acquired the Pernod brand in 1888.[4][5] Arthur's three sons took over after him in 1894.[6]
Art Collector
The Veil-Picard family had a long tradition of art collecting.[7] In 1918, the famous French art dealer, René Gimpel, described Arthur Georges Veil-Picard as "the foremost art lover in Paris".[8] He assembled his art collection at 63 rue de Courcelles over a period of forty years. The collection included eighteenth-century paintings, drawings and miniatures.[9]
Nazi occupation of France
Due to their Jewish heritage Veil-Picard and his family were persecuted and plundered during the Nazi occupation of France.[10][11][12][13][14]
Many of the artworks seized were restituted to the family in 1946.[15]
Three works from the former collection of Veil-Picard are currently in the National Gallery of Art:The Little Preacher, by Jean-Honoré Fragonard; Dr. Louis Martinet by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, and Cassabanca with Atlantes Supporting the Arms by a 16th century Italian artist .[16]
Family
His son also named Arthur Veil-Picard is famous in French horse racing circles.[17]
^"La collection du banquier Veil-Picard". Connaissance des Arts (in French). 2010-06-21. Retrieved 2023-10-14. Grand amateur d'art, le banquier Arthur Georges Veil-Picard collectionnait, au tournant des XIXe et XXe siècles, les tableaux, miniatures et dessins.
^"LIVE AUCTION 3588 LE GOÛT FRANÇAIS : ARTS DÉCORATIFS DU XVIIÈME SIÈCLE AU XIXÈME SIÈCLE". christies.com. "Le Premier amateur de Paris", c'est en ces termes que René Gimpel, l'un des grands marchands de la Belle Epoque, décrivait en 1918 Arthur Georges Veil-Picard (1854-1944). Son image nous est connue notamment par son portrait exécuté en 1887 au pastel par son ami Boldini et par des photographies, à une poque où il collectionnait avec passion les tableaux, les dessins et les miniatures du XVIIIe siècle.
^"François Boucher and Studio A young woman, seen in profile, walking in a park, traditionally identified as Madame de Pompadour". sothebys.com. Casimir Perrin, marquis de Cypierre (1784-1844); His posthumous sale, Paris, 10 March 1845, lot 165 (as François Boucher); Arthur Georges Veil-Picard (1854-1944), Paris; Seized from the above at the Banque de France (Vault 63), Paris by the Devisenschutzkommando (DSK) on 29 October 1940; Transferred from the Louvre to Neuschwanstein, Bavaria and to the Jeu de Paume, Paris; Repatriated to France on 13 November 1945 and subsequently restituted to the Veil-Picard family on 16 April 1946;