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THE OLDEST SURVIVING FINE ART PRINTMAKER IN THE WORLD
For almost a century, the Lacourière atelier has preserved the mastery of printmaking, collaborating with the world’s greatest artists to create works that enrich and elevate life.
ORIGINS OF THE ATELIER
Founded in 1929 by master printmaker Roger Lacourière, the atelier took root in Montmartre, the historic cradle of Parisian art. Within its workshops, generations of artisans transformed metal, ink, and paper into a language of rare precision. From its earliest days, Lacourière stood at the intersection of tradition and artistic experimentation.
The original Lacourière Atelier at 11 Rue Foyatier, Paris, seen through a master printing press
The legendary artist Joan Miró in the Lacourière Atelier
THE MASTERS WHO SHAPED US
Picasso, Matisse, Chagall, Miró, Dalí, Giacometti, Soulages—artists who defined the 20th century found in the atelier a partner equal to their ambition. Over time, Lacourière became the printmaker of record for many of their most important editioned works, drawing on the full vocabulary of the craft: etching, engraving, aquatint, sugar-lift, mezzotint, intaglio, and lithography.
Here, printer and artist worked side by side, exploring how a line could breathe and how a plate could carry emotion. This immersion in the atelier and its possibilities nurtured innovation in both their technical mastery and artistic sensibility, leaving an indelible mark on their work and on the craft itself.
Pablo Picasso and Jacques Frélaut holding a copper etching plate at the artist’s residence, La Californie, Cannes, 1961
LACOURIÈRE AND PICASSO
In the 1930s, Picasso entrusted the atelier with the printing of the Suite Vollard, a series of 100 etchings now revered as one of the greatest achievements in 20th-century graphic art. In 1939, in the wake of the Spanish Civil War, two of Picasso’s nephews, J. Fín and Vilató, arrived in Paris as political refugees and found refuge in the atelier as apprentices—a quiet testament to its presence not only in artistic history, but in the personal lives shaped around it.
This blend of technical mastery, artistic collaboration, and personal trust was emblematic of Lacourière’s relationships with the century’s most influential artists. Within the atelier, creation was a shared act of rare artistic trust—an exchange that helped define modern fine art printmaking.
LACOURIÈRE & FRÉLAUT: FOUNDERS OF MODERN PRINTMAKING
Lacourière became synonymous with artistic innovation: deep, velvety aquatints; expressive sugar-lift; techniques refined to a near-invisible mastery. The atelier worked alongside the great pioneers of modern art, bringing to life Picasso’s Suite Vollard, Matisse’s Jazz, Miró’s lithograph suites, and Chagall’s Bible Series. These celebrated prints stand as milestones of 20th-century graphic art, reflecting both the artists’ vision and the atelier’s technical mastery.
In 1938, Jacques Frélaut joined the atelier, soon becoming its principal manager. After Roger Lacourière’s passing, he assumed leadership and renamed it Lacourière-Frélaut, ushering in a new and dynamic chapter in the printmaker’s history.
Jacques Frélaut operating the flywheel of a master printing press at the Lacourière Atelier, 1954
LACOURIÈRE PRIZE FOUNDATION
Founded in 1979 by Madeleine Lacourière in honor of her husband, Roger Lacourière, the Prix Lacourière is a prestigious biennial award recognizing excellence in engraving. Its foundation reflects the atelier’s enduring influence, first celebrated by the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris through the landmark retrospective L’Atelier Lacourière‑Frélaut, and documented in the 1968 publication Hommage à Lacourière, featuring etchings by eminent artists including Max Ernst, Alberto Giacometti, André Masson, Joan Miró, and Pablo Picasso.
Awarded by the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, the prize preserves traditional mastery while championing emerging artists and fostering the next generation of printmaking talent.
Print by Baptiste Fompeyrine, winner of the 2025 Lacourière Prize
IN THE WORLD'S MOST PRESTIGIOUS COLLECTIONS
Lacourière’s prints have long been held in the world’s leading art institutions, a testament to their artistic and historical significance. Today, its artworks are preserved and exhibited by major museums worldwide, including the V&A, the British Museum, MoMA, and the Guggenheim Museum New York. Original signed prints remain highly sought after by collectors and are regularly offered at leading auction houses such as Christie’s and Sotheby’s.
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