Last October, the Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art celebrated its 40th anniversary in the building currently under construction in which it will soon move, Place du Palais-Royal, in Paris. This event was an opportunity to recall the history of this pioneering structure and the role played in its influence by its first director, Marie-Claude Beaud. The latter left us two months later, on December 29, 2024.
A free, direct woman, she was for decades one of the leading figures in the world of contemporary art, making strong and determined choices, in the service of art and artists. She, who claimed to be provincial, was born in Besançon on February 22, 1946. After studying art history and having worked with Maurice Besset at the Grenoble museum in the 1960s and 1970s, she took her first bold decision by becoming a curator. of the Toulon museum, a city considered conservative. There, she led a policy of leading exhibitions and acquisitions in the field of contemporary art, despite tight budgets. It was in this position that she was spotted to become the first director of the Cartier Foundation which was inaugurated in Jouy-en-Josas, in Yvelines, in 1984. Here again, she made a bet while private structures dedicated to to art are still extremely rare in France. She will develop high-quality programming there, also launching artist residencies. She remained at the head of the structure until 1994, when she joined the American Center, which moved to Bercy, in the Frank Gehry building which has since become the Cinémathèque française. The experience was short-lived and the institution disappeared in 1996. She then became general curator of the Museums of the Central Union of Decorative Arts in Paris, having always been very keen to bring together artists and designers. She will take on a new challenge in 2000 by becoming general director of the future Grand-Duc Jean Museum of Modern Art (Mudam), in Luxembourg, which she will open in 2006. In the meantime, she will be curator of the Luxembourg pavilion by Su-Mei Tse, who won the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in 2003. The one to whom in 2005 was entrusted with the artistic direction of the International Art Prize contemporary of the Prince Pierre of Monaco Foundation, will finally be appointed in 2009 director of the New National Museum of Monaco. She will organize numerous exhibitions in the principality, notably at the Villa Paloma inaugurated in 2010. She will remain at the head of the institution until her retirement in 2021. Active in the South, where she co-founded the center of art of national interest at Villa Noailles, Marie-Claude Beaud accompanied the Hyères International Fashion, Photography and Accessories Festival for years.
In 1999, this great lady of art declared to us: “ we should stop thinking that cultural professionals spend their time spending money poorly. Today, it is fashionable not to trust artists, and yet it is from them that change will come; they are the inventors “. Words of striking relevance and relevance even today.
