The Man with the Carnation: Fans from the Gérard Lévy Collection

Fantasy and folly take centre stage in a spellbinding exhibition of more than 80 fans, on display for the first time in the UK…

The intriguingly titled, The Man with the Carnation showcases the fan collection of Gérard Lévy (1934–2016), a revered dealer and connoisseur of Asian art and antique photography who collected fans for pleasure. Born in Morocco, Lévy lived most of his life in France where in 1966 he opened Galerie Gérard Lévy (designed by Le Corbusier) in Paris.

An urbane figure who always wore on his lapel a carnation flower, Lévy’s fan collection echoes some of his broader artistic interests – surrealism, for example. Themes such as fantasy, folly and exoticism resonate throughout the exhibition and reinforce his quest to collect the kitsch, curious, naïve and exemplary.

The exhibition spotlights a gentleman who possessed a deep knowledge of and appreciation for beautiful objects.
The Fan Museum is honoured to work with Galerie Gérard Lévy and continue our ‘Entente Cordiale.’
Helene Alexander, Director, The Fan Museum

Folding fan, the leaf signed GVE (GUSTAVE) DORÉ. France, c. 1870 Folding fan with gauze leaf, signed L (Louis Théophile) HINGRE. France, c. 1890 Folding fan, the leaf shows three demons and Zhong Kui, a mythic exerciser of demons in ancient Chinese legends. China, late eighteenth century. Folding fan, the leaf with faces of applied painted ivory and applied silk robes. China for export, c. 1840s Palmette fan, c. 1890