Though Guimard was Though Guimard was largelyforgottten for many years, hismetro signs have become atourist attraction in their ownright, and a new museumdedicated to his art is dueto be established in 2028 atthe Hotel Mezzara (which hedesigned in 1910) in the 16tharrondissement.Hector Guimard’s dining room at the Petit PalaisCastel Beranger entry © Fred Romero, Paris CC BY 2.0, commons.wikimedia.orgis considered the first Art Nouveau building inthe world.Guimard’s best known works were constructedbetween the years 1895 and 1905. Hedesigned and built schools, funerarymonuments, town houses and apartmentblocks including Castel Béranger (Guimardlived there for a while) the first Art Nouveauresidence in Paris, and the colourful MaisonCoilliot in Lille. He also designed countryvillas, a concert hall, ceramics factories,artists’ studios, and exposition pavilions as wellas train station entrances for the ExpositionUniverselle of 1900, the year the Metroopened. His mass-produced, metal Métroentrance designs, with their flowing lines andfloral shapes, initially shocked Parisians. Somesaid his use of green paint was “un-French”,that the letters were confusing, and that theironwork looked much too Teutonic. Todaythey are legendary icons of the city, thoughjust 86 of 167 such entrances remain. Mostwere demolished.In 1909, Guimard married American painterAdeline Oppenheim, and as wedding giftto her, he designed a luxury house for themto live in at 122 avenue Mozart in the 16tharrondissement, known today as HotelGuimard. He designed most of the interiorobjects and fixtures himself, includingnumerous Art Nouveau fabrics and furniture.In fact, for most of his buildings, Guimardcreated a wide range of decorative designsin stained glass, ceramic panels, wrought ironfixtures, and floral wallpaper.Guimard built several residential buildings inthe same neighborhood, and a few remain,including Hôtel Houyvet, Castel Béranger, andHotel Guimard. But Art Nouveau went out offashion by the end of the World War I, soonto be replaced by Art Deco. By 1942, whenGuimard died aged 75 in New York, where heand his wife emigrated to in 1938, he was allbut forgotten.After World War II ended, Adeline, who outlivedher husband by 23 years, returned to France.She tried to convince French officials to createa museum dedicated to her husband’s legacybut was unsuccessful. She donated much ofGuimard’s work to American museums, notablythe Museum of Modern Art in New York andthe New York Public Library, where they stillremain. Adeline later donated the dining roomsuite and interior wall panelling from the HotelGuimard to the city of Paris where you can seeit at the Petit Palais Museum.Did you know?The Metro was originally called theCompagnie du chemin de fer métropolitainde Paris (“The Paris Metropolitan RailwayCompany”). There are 304 stations in Paris,16 lines and it’s growing, 4 more metro linesare currently being dug out. It’s said that theMetro covers 600,000 miles a day – theequivalent of ten times around the world,the average distance between stations 550metres, and that it takes an average of 60seconds to go from one station to the next.72 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 73
