Tavet-Delacour Museum

In the former home of the Vicar-General of Pontoise, a rare example of late Gothic-period civic architecture, the Tavet-Delacour Museum was founded in 1889 on the initiative of one of the town’s archaeological society’s founders, Mr Tavet. He suggested the town move its collections here and add to them using money from donations and renovating the building.

Like all collections of that time, it is very eclectic, including items such as a set of doors commissioned by an abbess from Maubuisson in the 17th century, lapidary fragments from the demolition of various churches and convents in the town during the Revolution, the leg of Catherine de' Medici and a tooth falsely attributed to Henri IV, along with Art Nouveau ceramics acquired during the 1900 Universal Exposition. Meanwhile, the Cabinet d'art graphique harbours works from the 16th century to the present day.

In 1968, the museum received a donation of works emanating from the studio of Otto Freundlich (1878-1943), acknowledged as one of the masters of modern art. Since then, the collections have been further enhanced with works by Henri Matisse, Hans Arp, Gleizes, Geer van Velde, Aurelie Nemours, Masurovsky, Shirley Goldfarb, Jean Legros, Roger Chastel, Diego Giacometti, Herbin, Valmier, Reichel, Fleischmann, Gargallo and Marcelle Cahn.

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