Pierre Maurs: The Humanistic Feelings of a Modern Art Lover

Perhaps Pierre Maurs (1908-2000) is little known in the art world today because of his natural modesty. Yet, this French dealer and collector truly deserves recognition for his keen eye and unique personality as an impassioned and curious man. This will certainly emerge with the sale of the last 135 works from his personal collection. As a child, he was interested in fossils. Auctioneer Rémy Gauthier evokes Maurs' "tireless searches in the geological strata of the Vexin region in France; he unearthed a giant cerithium which went to the Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris upon his death." But his father, a gunsmith and car dealer, originally intended him for a very different line of work: mechanics. As soon as he could, he reclaimed his freedom, left Rouen and began a life of adventure that took him first to the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, then to the depths of the Mediterranean with Commander Cousteau . But he soon headed for the capital and renewed his ties with the artistic world. His sensibilities developed further during his military service in North Africa between 1928 and 1930, alongside the painter Roger Tolmer (1908-1988). The two friends…