 Veuillez patienter... Musée Franco-américain du château de Blérancourt (02)
The Franco-American Museum Castle Blerancourt is being renovated.
The reopening is scheduled for late 2011. |
| | The Franco-American museum is situated in the Picardy region, in the Aisne département in the village of Blérancourt, 110 km to the north east of Paris. The château, constructed in 1619 by Salomon Brosse, is tucked away in the green countryside. The place is well known by amateur gardeners for its 17th century park and gardens and also for its arboretum, planted in a former kitchen garden and created from plans from the American continent. |
|  | | The entrance to the château. Source: Department of Culture - RMN |
| It was in 1917 that Anne Morgan, the daughter of the American banker John Pierpont Morgan and founder of the American committee for the devastated regions of France, bought the château in order to come to the aid of civilian populations that had been left battered by the war.
In 1931 the site became the National Museum of Franco-American Cooperation of Blérancourt.
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| The château brings together various historical and artistic accounts and documents about American involvement in the two world wars and their invaluable role in the reconstruction of France and Europe.
Examination of this collection thus tells the history of the American Committee for the devastated regions of France, the epic Lafayette Squadron and pays tribute to the dedication of the volunteers of the American Field Service.
The museum, which belongs to the network of national museums, and its park have benefited from renovation work and now plays host to visitors in a restored setting that is specially adapted to satisfy everyone's interests.
The museum concentrates on six themes:
The birth of Franco-American friendship (18th century);
Artistic exchanges (19th - 20th Centuries);
The First World War;
[list Anne Morgan's photographic collection;
The graphic arts;
The document collection.
More than just a simple museum about American history, the site is intended to be a place for shared transatlantic history and remembrance after the war of Independence (1776-1783).
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|  | | Statue of G. Washington, by Jean-Antoine Houdon. Source: Franco-American museum |
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| | A media library in the southern block, created by the Anne Murray Vail Foundation, provides a rich collection of documents on Franco-American history since the 18th century. On the ground floor, a library offers a wide range of both old and recent works on a large variety of subjects. In particular, it has works on gardens, artists, key figures, sculpture, painting, architecture, photography, the North American Indians, the AFS and the Lafayette Squadron etc. On the first floor a documentation department concentrates on the works, artists, personalities and topics relating to Franco-American relations. |
|  | | American ambulance from the First World War. Source: Franco-American museum |
| The collection is organised as follows:
Records of works, classified according to their artistic area providing a comprehensive overview of paintings, sculptures, etchings, drawings, medals, posters and photographs, as well as other objects.
Records of artists, whose work is owned by the museum, or relates to the topics developed in the museum tour or even to the history of the subject. Divided into four artistic categories: sculpture, painting, architecture and photography.
Records of key figures provide information on those people who have played an important role in the history of Franco-American relations.
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| Practical information:Franco-American museum
Château de Blérancourt
02300 Blérancourt - France
Tel: + 33 (0) 3 23 39 60 16
Fax: + 33 (0) 3 23 39 62 85
Email: musee.blerancourt@culture.gouv.fr
Opening times
The shop is open every day except Tuesday from 2 pm until 6 pm.
Closed on 1st January, 1st May and 25th December.
The New World Gardens are open every day from 8 am until 7 pm. Free entry.
Full rate: 3.50 €
Reduced rate: 2.50 €
Supplement for temporary exhibitions: 1.20 €
Group rate: 55 € (77 € for temporary exhibitions)
Group tours by appointment only and a maximum of 30 people per group
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| | Source: Franco-American museum |
Les personnages associés
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Pershing (1860-1948) |
| United States Army General John J. Pershing commanded American troops engaged along the French front in 1918. |
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Les liens à découvrir sur le sujet
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