To mark its twentieth anniversary, Saint-Etienne MA[copyright]tropole Museum of Modern Art is publishing a new catalogue of its 20th century collections, whose importance places the Museum in the ranks of the great national and international institutions of modern and contemporary art. With its wealth of nearly 15,000 works, 900 pieces of design and 2,000 photographs, the collection has been favoured with many loans and exhibitions, and its rich endowment continues to grow through acquisitions and donations.The collection began with the legacy of the Museum of Art and Industry set up at the end of the 19th century, and owes its richness and quality to the various curators, managers, political authorities and private patrons who had the vision and conviction to see that the art of their own time ought to reach and train the taste of the greatest possible number, thus becoming an engine of economic and social development. New lines of photography and design have begun in recent years to be collected, and now form noteworthy ensembles in these domains as well.
To fill a number of gaps the collection has acquired major works by contemporary artists such as Franck Stella, Martial Raysse, Giuseppe Penone and Gilbert and George: they now join the masterpieces by Fernand LA[copyright]ger, Pablo Picasso, Joan MirA , Jean Dubuffet and Pierre Soulages.