Death of Daniel Cordier: A Resistance Hero Passionate About Art

The outpouring of tributes following Daniel Cordier’s death at the age of 100 on November 20 recalled his role as Resistance leader Jean Moulin’s secretary in 1942. Moulin introduced him to modern art: as a knowledgeable collector, one of his covers was art dealer, so it was only natural for them to talk about painting, especially in public places. In 1943 he took Cordier to see a Kandinsky show in Saint-Germain-des-Prés. They promised to visit the Prado together. Cordier went alone in 1944. Formal disorder Cordier inherited some paintings, including one by Jean Dewasne, from his father, who died in 1943. Stéphane Hessel, with whom he became friends in London, was among those who advised him to turn to art, and put him in touch with Marcel Duchamp in New York. On the sidelines of the 2017 Outsider Art Fair at Drouot, with his bright blue eyes and sparkling wit he talked about his 1945 visit to Nicolas de Staël's first show at the Jeanne Bucher Gallery in Paris, after which he went to meet the painter…