Jacqueline Badord

1917–

Jacqueline Badord was born in Provence, France in 1917. Throughout her life she has shown a striking energy and vitality, both mischievous and strong. She was born into a musical family and her parents wished her to play the violin. It was Beethoven’s piano symphonies, however, that struck her the most, along with sketching. At a very young age she attended the School of Fine Arts of Toulon and has since continued to draw and sculpt. Her sculpting led her to find her husband, Olivier Descamps. They married in 1942 and began to sculpt in tandem.

In 1959, they moved to Paris with their three children. Noticed by architects at her first exhibition, she was commissioned to create works for public spaces that would exist across Europe and Canada. Her most monumental pieces are in Provence, created out of their studio nestled in the heart of Paris’s Latin Quarter. Jacqueline loves having visitors at her studio and invites many to dig through her work, enjoying each piece – jewelry, models, or sketches – and explains her process of tirelessly reworking each piece from the spontaneity of her first pencil stroke to its completion.

Jacqueline claims that she does not draw well just by instinct. It takes practice and research, constantly examining the expression of movement. In her bag, she always carries a sketchbook and pencil. She lays out scenes of her life onto each page, filling the book from cover to cover. These sketches become inspiration for her musical sculptures.

She has also published two limited edition books, “New York” and “Cello”, with masterpieces that are as enduring as their creator. Jaqueline also recently received the prize for sculpture at the Institute of the Academy of Fine Arts.