Paris & Giverny


Since 2009 the Terra Foundation Paris Center has served as the hub of our European activities, invigorating a rich dialogue on the visual arts of the United States through:

  • Academic programs,
  • Exhibitions and institutional partnerships,
  • Publication programs, and
  • Europe’s only research library devoted exclusively to American art (see below).

We also host the popular Terra Summer Residency, at our properties in the historic village of Giverny (see below), where international artists and scholars have gathered annually since 2001 to enhance the exploration and understanding of American art and visual culture.

Terra Foundation for American Art
121 rue de Lille
75007 Paris
France

Phone: +33 1 43 20 67 01
Fax: +33 1 40 20 49 88

For general information: [email protected]
For grant information: [email protected]

Terra Foundation Library of American Art

The library is open by appointment only. For more information and to schedule an appointment, please contact Ewa Bobrowska at [email protected].

Access the library’s online catalogue.

Europe’s only research library devoted exclusively to the historical art of the United States and transatlantic artistic exchange, the Terra Foundation Library of American Art specializes in art from the eighteenth century to 1980, with particular emphasis on the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Holdings consist of nearly 11,000 English-language books and catalogs, including rare materials and digital resources, on painting, sculpture, and graphic arts, as well as photography and decorative arts, all of which are catalogued online. JSTOR, Artstor Digital Library, and ProQuest (American Periodicals Series and International Bibliography of Art) are also available for consultation.

A partnership with the Fondation Custodia, home to the Frits Lugt Collection and the first private art history library in France, provides access to a shared reading room and combined holdings of approximately 150,000 volumes on Western art history.

This non-circulating research library is open to the public and free of charge. For more information about library facilities and research services, please contact Ewa Bobrowska at [email protected] or +33 1 43 20 82 65.

Academic Programs

The Paris Center welcomes a growing international community of scholars and curators, as well as the interested public, and provides a regular forum on art of the United States through lectures, workshops, and symposia. Programs focus on current topics in American art and visual culture with an emphasis on cross–cultural and interdisciplinary perspectives, including:

Additionally, Paris Center staff collaborate closely with universities and museums throughout Europe to develop a wide range of academic programs that encourage the exchange of ideas about American art. These programs include research and teaching fellowships and partner-hosted lectures and symposia, such “L’Impressionnisme et la Politique” at the Musée des Impressionnismes Giverny.

Exhibitions & Institutional Partnerships

Paris Center staff act as ambassadors for the Terra Foundation collection in Europe. We organize exhibitions, provide curatorial expertise, and serve as a liaison for museums seeking international partners and venues. Moreover, in conjunction with our Exhibition Grants, we work closely with curators to create opportunities to view and study the visual arts of the United States throughout Europe.

Publication Programs

The Terra Foundation for American Art’s publications program includes grants, a book translation prize, and an international essay prize specifically dedicated to scholars working outside the United States.

Giverny

In the early 1990s, Daniel J. Terra, founder of the Terra Foundation for American Art, acquired several houses in the French village of Giverny, located approximately 40 mi/70 km outside Paris. He was intent on creating an American art research center that inspired discovery in a range of academic disciplines and fostered meaningful interaction between scholars and artists from different backgrounds and geographies.

This idea came to fruition in 2001, when the first Terra Summer Residency occurred—it has taken place annually ever since. Today, the program is recognized for:

  • Internationalizing the study of American art and visual culture,
  • Promoting inter-generational collegiality and collaboration among hundreds of scholars and artists on both sides of the Atlantic, and
  • Forging a valuable professional network of influential scholars and artists who help shape the future of art history.

Nestled among landscaped gardens and situated in close proximity to Claude Monet’s house and gardens and the Musée des Impressionnismes Giverny, the Terra Foundation properties also provide an ideal setting for academic conferences, student convenings, artist workshops, and other programs. For more information about renting these facilities, please contact the Residencies Manager Véronique Dall’Agnol at [email protected].