{"id":1891,"date":"2025-03-25T16:00:37","date_gmt":"2025-03-25T15:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.musee-dior-granville.com\/?page_id=1891"},"modified":"2026-05-22T15:16:47","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T13:16:47","slug":"the-history-of-the-museum","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.musee-dior-granville.com\/en\/museum\/the-history-of-the-museum\/","title":{"rendered":"The history of the Museum"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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From childhood home to museum of reference<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Founded in 1997, the Christian Dior Museum immerses you in the creator\u2019s personal life. Housed in his childhood home<\/a>, it has become an emblematic venue of international renown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1987, on the occasion of the brand\u2019s 40th birthday, Jean-Luc Dufresne, Christian Dior\u2019s first cousin twice removed, organised the exhibition Christian Dior, the Other Himself <\/em>at the Richard Anacr\u00e9on Museum of Modern Art,<\/a> whose curator he was. The exhibition enjoyed great success and was the departure point for establishment of the Christian Dior Museum, to which he devoted all his energy. He gathered together a group of enthusiastic volunteers, instigated the creation of an association and started to amass the collection. He obtained the first items from the creator\u2019s family and friends: Catherine Dior, the couturier\u2019s sister, donated family photographs and documents, while Jacques Rou\u00ebt, the House\u2019s Business Manager, donated “Monsieur Dior\u2019s” good-luck star, last diary and one of his watches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Discover the temporary exhibitions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"Mus\u00e9e<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Agenda<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Couverture<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Creation of the Pr\u00e9sence de Christian Dior <\/em>association<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Established in 1991, the Pr\u00e9sence de Christian Dior association united Christian Dior Couture, Parfums Christian Dior<\/a>, the LVMH Group<\/a> and the City of Granville <\/a> around a common project. This unusual partnership ensured the Museum a global reputation and powerful cultural momentum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The association took over the Museum\u2019s management by delegation of public service. It acquired and structured its collections and cultural actions around the Granville-born couturier\u2019s legacy, memory, personality and career. It fitted out the venue as a museum, including creation of “exhibition rooms” in 1997, which enabled it to open the villa to the public and present its collections in it.<\/p>\n\n\n \n Learn more about the association <\/a>\n \n\n\n

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\"Illustration<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The Museum\u2019s highlights since its creation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Museum has charted a remarkable course since it opened in 1997. It obtained the Museum of France<\/em><\/a> designation in 2002 and there have been several decisive chapters in its story since then, including the 2005 exhibition<\/a>, an event held to mark the centenary of the couturier\u2019s birth and which attracted a remarkable number of visitors. In 2012, the Museum was awarded the House of the Illustrious<\/em> label by the Ministry of Culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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2002: The Museum of France label, guarantee of commitment at the service of collections<\/h3>\n
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\"Foulard<\/p>\n

In 2002, the Christian Dior Museum, one of the only two museums exclusively devoted to a couturier (along with the Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Paris), obtained the highly demanding Museum of France<\/em> label, guaranteeing the Ministry of Culture\u2019s support for its actions and the institution\u2019s commitment at the service of its collections. Governed by the Law of 4 January 2002<\/a>, the Museum undertakes to “conserve, restore, study and enrich its collections; to make them accessible to the public; to undertake education and awareness-raising activities; to help towards the progress and development of research”.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n

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2005: An exceptional number of visitors<\/h3>\n
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\"Affiche<\/p>\n

The exhibition Christian Dior, Man of the Century,<\/em> labelled “exhibition of national interest”,<\/em> included loans from major international collections. Inaugurated jointly by the Minister of Culture, Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, and the Chairman and CEO of the LVMH Group, Bernard Arnault, it received some 50,000 visitors.<\/p>\n

View the Museum\u2019s past exhibitions<\/a><\/p>\n

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2012: The House of the Illustrious label<\/h3>\n
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\"Entr\u00e9e<\/p>\n

The same year, the Museum became a House of the Illustrious<\/em><\/a>. It joined the exclusive club of venues so rewarded, alongside Victor Hugo\u2019s house in Guernsey and Jean-Fran\u00e7ois Millet\u2019s birthplace in Gr\u00e9ville-Hague, to name just the nearest.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n

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2019: A new turning point<\/h3>\n
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\"Le<\/p>\n

After the flagship exhibition in 2005, whose peak attendance would only become a constant ten years later, the exhibition Grace of Monaco: Princess in Dior<\/em> enjoyed unprecedented success with over 72,000 visitors. In close partnership with the Prince\u2019s Palace in Monaco, the exhibition was inaugurated by Albert II and consolidated the Christian Dior Museum\u2019s reputation at home and abroad.<\/p>\n

Discover the temporary exhibitions<\/a><\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"Fa\u00e7ade<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Make the most of a constantly renewed Museum<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ready to enjoy a backstage view of the great couturier\u2019s creativity? Come to the Christian Dior Museum and discover its originality. Don\u2019t hesitate to book your ticket online so as to avoid having to queue.<\/p>\n\n\n \n Prepare your visit <\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From childhood home to museum of reference Founded in 1997, the Christian Dior Museum immerses you in the creator\u2019s personal life. Housed in his childhood home, it has become an emblematic venue of international renown. In 1987, on the occasion of the brand\u2019s 40th birthday, Jean-Luc Dufresne, Christian Dior\u2019s first cousin twice removed, organised the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"parent":463,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1891","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe history of the Museum - Mus\u00e9e Christian Dior<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.musee-dior-granville.com\/en\/museum\/the-history-of-the-museum\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The history of the Museum - Mus\u00e9e Christian Dior\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"From childhood home to museum of reference Founded in 1997, the Christian Dior Museum immerses you in the creator\u2019s personal life. 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