Georges Salles

Georges Salles was a French art historian and Orient specialist who made excavations in Iran, Afghanistan, and China. From 1921-24, he was curator of the Asian Arts Department of the Louvre Museum and, in 1941, he was appointed director of the Guimet National Museum of Asian Arts. From 1945-57, he was director of the Museums of France.

Salles was one of the pioneers of implementing a new concept of the museum of modern art, to make art available to the greatest possible number of people. He was friends with many of the most famous painters of the time, initiating the creation of several ceiling and mural paintings by them. He was also an art collector himself. He published, amongst others, an Histoire des Arts de l’Orient (Art History of the Orient) and a book about the Louvre titled Au Louvre, scènes de la vie du musée (At the Louvre, scenes from museum life). In 1953, he joined the cultural council of the Cercle Culturel de Royaumont, a cultural foundation based in the buildings of the former abbey of Royaumont. After his retirement in 1957, he joined author and politician André Malraux (1901-1976) to edit the book series L’Univers des forms (The Arts of Mankind).

Salles was the grandson of Gustave Eiffel, the constructor of the Eiffel Tower. As a boy, he spent time in his grandfather’s house and met many famous people including the Fauves and Cubist artists. He studied literature and law and fought in World War I, receiving the Croix de Guerre twice.