Culture | Art hubs and snubs

The arts in Paris are booming—and trying to nip at London’s heels

A long-running rivalry between London and Paris is playing out in the art market

Pedestrians walk past a work by Italian sculptor Gaetano Pesce entitled "Double Heart" on display at the Tuileries Gardens in Paris on October 16, 2023.
Image: Getty Images
|LONDON AND PARIS

The rivalry between France and England is long-running and bitter. The Wikipedia entry for “France-United Kingdom Relations”, at more than 15,000 words, is almost the length of a novella. Since William the Conqueror did what his name suggests in 1066, the French and English have vied for superiority with swords, guns, words and—more recently—art auctions.

This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “Art hubs and snubs”

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