One might be astonished to realize that these works were assembled entirely by one couple: French artist Charles Huard (1874–1965)(Figs. 1–5) and his wife, American writer Frances Wilson Huard (1885–1969)(Figs. 6–8).

In the 1920s, Charles and Frances Huard developed a keen interest in historic French wallpapers, going so far as to turn their interest into a business. In partnership with American interior decorator Nancy Vincent McClelland (1877–1959) (Fig. 9), the Huards began collecting wallpapers in France to sell through McClelland’s eponymous business (Fig. 10). The vast majority of the wallpapers found by the Huards came directly off the walls of homes in France. Through antique dealers and word-of-mouth, Charles and Frances connected with those who were looking to remove the wallpapers from their homes. They also discovered troves of wallpapers in homes that had been abandoned, perhaps due to financial constraints or displacement caused by World War I and earlier sociopolitical unrest.

Alongside their business of selling wallpapers that they discovered, the Huards built their own collection of historical examples. They no doubt lived with and enjoyed these works until the murmurs of a second World War caused them to seek out an appropriate home for the collection, much of which was at that point already more than one hundred years old. Documents in RISD’s archives detail the Huards’ 1934 sale of the wallpapers to RISD and suggest that the deal was not solely a financial transaction. In a letter (Figs. 11–12) to RISD president Helen Metcalf Danforth (1887–1984), Frances Wilson Huard stated that “the ever-growing apprehension of what may rapidly transpire in Europe is what prompts me to write and ask you if you would consider purchasing the collection.” The Huards’ desire to safeguard their collection was fueled by their experience during World War I, when most of their belongings were destroyed during the German occupation of France.

Whether or not they knew it at the time, Charles and Frances Wilson Huard built a collection that would immortalize the extraordinary creative and technical skill of wallpaper production during this period in French history. Fragments of papers that others might have cast away were archived with care, and design drawings—rare examples of process and production—were maintained with the same significance as completed wallpapers, making it an ideal teaching collection. It is almost as if these works were assembled with the RISD Museum in mind. Today, the Huard Collection is an invaluable resource for anyone wishing to learn more about the history of wallpaper production, design, interior decoration, and more.