Pierre Nahon | |
Birth Date: | 30 December 1935 |
Birth Place: | Oran, French Algeria |
Death Place: | Vence, Alpes-Maritimes, France[1] |
Nationality: | French |
Occupation: | Art collector and dealer |
Pierre Nahon (30 December 1935 – 10 September 2020) was an Algerian-born French art collector and gallery owner.[2]
Nahon was born on 30 December 1935 in Oran. In 1936, his family moved to Paris.[3] At the age of 16, he bought a watercolor painting by Francis Picabia.[4] After returning from the Algerian War, he met aspiring actress Marianne Bayet.[5] They married in December 1960. In 1973, they left their respective careers to open their own art gallery, Galerie Beaubourg in Paris, near the future Centre Pompidou. As a novice gallery owner, he worked with Patrice Trigano and managed to obtain works by César Baldacchini and Arman.[6]
In 1996, Nahon and Bayet were the subjects of a documentary by Jean-Luc Léon titled Un marchand, des artistes et des collectionneurs, which discussed money in the world of art. Nahon felt betrayed and victimized by the documentary,[7] which Léon claimed to be entirely unintentional.[8]
Pierre Nahon died on 10 September 2020 at the age of 84.[9]
Nahon exhibited artists such as; Armand, César Baldacchini, Charles Matton, Jean Tinguely, Yves Klein, Niki de Saint Phalle, Daniel Spoerri, George Segal, Andy Warhol, Raymond Hains, Jacques Villeglé, Dado, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Joseph Beuys.
In 2004, Nahon and Bayet sold their collection from the Château de Notre-Dame-des-Fleurs in Vence in a partnership with Sotheby's. On 19 March 2019, a new sale was made at the Galerie Charpentier.[10]