PRESS RELEASE
The French National Asian Art Museum Guimet
(Musee National des Arts Asiatiques-Guimet)
News Release – October 5, 2005
New York City-Based Art Collector and Museum Benefactor
Named Officer of the French Legion of Honor
PARIS, October 5, 2005: The Honorable Joseph P. Carroll of New York City was named Officer of the National Order of the Legion of Honor by President Jacques Chirac of France in his July 12th awards. The formal presentation of the award by M. Jean-Francois Jarrige, Membre de L’Institut, and President of the Musee National des Arts Asiatiques- Guimet, will take place October 6th at the Museum Guimet.
The National Order of the Legion of Honor is France's oldest and highest military and civilian decoration. Founded by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802, the Legion of Honor recognizes continued “eminent service” to the Republic of France. The Order is not only a decoration, but also an order of chivalry, with 3 ranks (Knight, Officer, Commander) and 2 dignities (Grand Officer and Grand Cross).
Recipients of the Legion of Honor are named by a decree signed by the President of the Republic. In making this award to Mr. Carroll, President Chirac made the following citation:
“This prestigious decoration, which I have awarded you, recognizes a collector of the highest expertise, and a great philanthropist whose donations enrich the collections of the Museum Guimet with exceptional works of art. It recognizes your generosity and your manifestly high regard for France.”
Mr. Carroll said:
"I feel extremely pleased and humbled to receive this great honor and, in particular, at the prestige of being named an Officer of the Legion of Honor. But this great distinction is not about me. Rather, it recognizes American private sector support for French cultural institutions which enrich our lives and help us define who we are. The President of the Republic is also emphasizing the importance of the Franco-American relationship, and Asian Art and Culture now and for the future of France in honoring my contributions to the Museum Guimet."
Educated in the United States at Columbia, Harvard and M.I.T., Mr. Carroll has had a multi-faceted career. He was a White House Fellow at the same time as future Secretary of State Colin Powell. He also served as Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States (George Shultz), and was a Member of the Faculty and Associate-In-Residence at the Korea Institute of Harvard University’s Fairbank Center. Both of his sons were born in France when he first came to Paris to work for a Franco-American firm more than 30 years ago. His wife, Professor Roberta Carroll of New York University, was Professeur Agrege of Medicine at Universite Paris VII for many years.
He stated:
“My wife and I are both very happy to be able to give back to France some of the richness she has given our lives and to commemorate our friendships with the late French Ambassadors to Korea, Roger Chambard and Pierre Landy."
One of the pre-eminent collectors and experts on Korean Buddhist art and literati painting in the West, Mr. Carroll serves as Charge de Mission for the President of the Musee Guimet, and has served as the Guimet’s Consulting Curator-Korean Art. He is also a benefactor of many museums and cultural institutions including the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, San Francisco, California, the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge University, Cambridge, England, the Korea National Museum, Seoul, Korea, the Los Angeles County Museum, Los Angeles, California, the Museum Fur Ostasiatische Kunst, Cologne, Germany, and the National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
Mr. Carroll’s Board memberships have included E. F. Hutton International, Geneva, Switzerland, the National Symphony of the United States, Washington, D.C., the Union International Contre Le Cancer (UICC), Geneva, Switzerland, Gilda’s House, New York City, New York, the American Friends of the Guimet Foundation, Washington, D.C., and the M.I.T. Club of France, Paris, France.
For further information, please contact:
Mme Helene Lefevre
Press Officer
Musee National des Arts Asiatiques-Guimet, Paris, FRANCE
Tel: 011 33 1 56 52 53 32
Fax: 011 33 1 56 52 53 54
e-mail:
6 October 2005
Musee Guimet, Paris, France
Remarks of M. Joseph P. Carroll at Legion of Honor Ceremony
In French
Je vous remercie, Monsieur Jarrige, Président du Musée Guimet, de ce très chaleureux discours.
Je vous remercie, M. Chirac, Président de la République, du grand honneur que vous m’accordez.
Je vous remercie, M. Jarrige, de m’avoir donné l’opportunité de travailler avec vous personnellement ainsi qu’avec les collaborateurs du Musée Guimet.
Mesdames et messieurs, chers amis, merci d’être venus partager ce merveilleux moment.
Nous sommes réunis au cœur de Paris, dans une institution française, et nous participons à une cérémonie française unique.
Il conviendrait donc que cette cérémonie se déroule en français.
Cependant, de nombreux invités étant étrangers, avec votre indulgence, je me permettrai de continuer en anglais.
Thank you M. Jarrige, President of the Musee Guimet, for your very gracious remarks.
Thank you M. Chirac, President of the Republic, for this great honor.
Thank you, M. Jarrige, for giving me the opportunity to work with you and the Musee Guimet.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Invited Guests, thank you for coming and sharing this wonderful occasion.
We are in Paris in an Institution of France participating in a uniquely French ceremony. It is appropriate that this ceremony should be conducted in French.
However, since many of our invited guests are foreigners, with your indulgence, I will continue in English.
In English
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Members of the Board of the American Chamber of Commerce of France,
Members of the Board of the European-American Chamber of Commerce in France,
Members of the Board of the MIT Club of France,
Invited Guests
The National Order of the Legion of Honor is France's oldest and highest military and civilian decoration. It is also an order of chivalry. It recognizes continued “eminent service” to the French Republic.
Both of my sons were born in France. My wife was Professeur Agrege of Medicine at Universite Paris VII for many years. Our lives here were particularly enriched by friendships with the late French Ambassadors to Korea, Roger Chambard and Pierre Landy. Receiving this great honor with the particular distinction of being named Officer of the Order of the Legion of Honor means much to my family and me.
I hope to continue to be of service to the Republic.
This great distinction is not just about me. It is also a recognition of American private sector support for French cultural institutions.
The Musee Guimet is the National Asian Art Museum of France, the most important single institution dedicated to Asian Art in the West.
It is a result of the contributions of “Great Men”, Great Men with strong personalities, Great Men with vision, Great Men with a willingness to work together towards a vision of “the true way”, the common good.
The Musee Guimet was founded by a Great Man, Emile Guimet, whose great idea was that to appreciate the significance of the religious artifacts of the East, they should be viewed not as estheticized objects, but as a sacred testimony, part of man’s spiritual journey.
The modern, revitalized Musee Guimet which you see today is also the result of collaboration and the contributions of many:
- First, the contribution of a great man with a profound scholarly understanding of Eastern history and a vision of the importance of Asian art and culture now and for the future of France: the President of the Republic, President Chirac.
Thank you M. le President.
- Second, the collaboration with the President of the Republic of a great archeologist, scholar, Member of the French Institute, a man who has dedicated over twenty years of his life converting political will and vision into a practical reality: M. Jean-Francois Jarrige, the President of the Musee Guimet.
Thank you M. Jarrige
- Third, the contribution of the staff of the Musee Guimet, from senior Curators, the best of the best which France has to offer in their respective fields, Charges de Mission, clerical and administrative support staff, secretaries and security guards: the Family of the Guimet.
Thank you Family of the Guimet.
- Finally, there is the contribution of the Guimet’s individual and corporate supporters and donors.
Life is not a concours, It is not a contest or a game in which one person’s success is achieved only by another person’s loss.
Ladies and gentlemen, if the 21st century is to be a concours between East and West, we of the West have already lost.
The future belongs to those organizations and societies, those individuals and businesses who are able to collaborate and work together. This is not something we do naturally or very well. It first requires mutual respect and understanding.
This is true mission of the Guimet, and its importance to France and the world.
We live in an economic universe.
The Guimet’s financial resources bear no relationship to its mission and its importance, its scope and possibilities.
It needs of our help.
It needs our support.
Please let us work with you to secure your help and support.
Thank you.