From the very beginning, you have opened your prize to the international art scene, why?  

We wanted it to go in this direction because there is no other drawing prize in the world quite like it. By that we mean, a prize addressing French artists or artists having a connection with our country. Either they have been to the Beaux-Arts schools, or they are part of public collections, or have benefitted from exhibitions in an institution. Galleries are not enough for us.  This is why sometimes we discover very interesting artists that we don’t select.  The committee is made up of three people from institutions and three private.  But the jury, and this is very important to us, is mainly comprised of collectors, four international and five French.     

Has the prize promoted the career of the artists abroad?   

Dove Allouche, who is a French artist, is a good example, because he has benefitted from a certain number of exhibitions in France and elsewhere since he was selected. After having won in 2009, Sandra Vásquez de la Horra was immediately taken on by the galleries David Nolan and Thaddaeus Ropac. Lately, she has exhibited in the Netherlands and Brazil.  As for Catharina van Eetvelde, the winner in 2010, today she has a new gallery in New York.   

Your jury is composed of American collectors rather than anyone else…  

Not only American, because this year we are inviting Giovanni Springmeier, a German collector and Joe Battat, who lives in Canada. Moreover, last year Mr. Battat acquired the entire series of drawings by our winner Marcel van Eeden, even though he only collected old master drawings. It’s very important to us that we made him aware of contemporary drawing.   

It’s with him that you are soon going to be presenting a part of your collection in Montreal?

Yes. This exhibition, which will take place in the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in April 2013, will be unveiling our two passions in parallel.  But it is really interesting that the Museum is also proposing its own collection of modern and contemporary drawings alongside ours. The entire Museum will be given over to this medium under the name of the Springtime of Drawing.   

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