The French Sculpture Census is the first comprehensive catalogue of French sculpture in the United States. It lists all existing French sculpture, dating from 1500 to 1960, in American public collections. Not only does it take account of works in museums, but also in historic houses, government buildings (the White House, for example), and public spaces. The scope of the census is vast, both in space and time, and currently includes 13,145 works by 1,057 artists in 620 locations.

FrenchSculpture.org is both a resource and an educational tool. It offers a glossary of sculpture terms, texts on the making of a sculpture, references for French legal texts defining originals and reproductions, and a series of “Spotlights” on specific works.

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Partners

Nasher Sculpture Center
Institut National d'Histoire de l'Art (INHA)
Musée d'Orsay
Musée Rodin
Ecole du Louvre

Laure de Margerie, Director

Laure de Margerie was Senior Archivist and head of the Sculpture Archives at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, from 1978 through 2009. In this position she curated several exhibitions including Facing the Other: Charles Cordier (1827-1905), Ethnographic Sculptor (Paris, Quebec City, New York, 2004/05). She was part of the team who installed the sculpture collection at the opening of the museum in 1986 and co-authored the collection catalogue (1986). De Margerie also worked as archivist in charge of historic buildings in Normandy in Rouen (1983-1985) and oversaw rights and reproductions at the National Archives in Paris (1991-1992). She was awarded a fellowship at the Clark Art Institute, in Williamstown, MA (2000/01), and was the Sculpture and Decorative Arts Department guest scholar at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, CA (Fall 2011).