NB 12, Large Red Painting of a Planet on Wood Panel, Thierry Despont, US, 2002

Born in France, Thierry Despont studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and earned a Master’s in Urban Design from Harvard. After founding his architectural firm in 1980, he built a prestigious reputation, working on landmark projects such as the Statue of Liberty’s Centennial Restoration, the J. Paul Getty Museum’s Decorative Arts Galleries, and high-end hotels like the Carlyle in New York and Claridge’s in London. His many high profile clients included the likes of Bill Gates and Calvin Klein.

While best known for these projects, Despont was a no less accomplished visual artist. His enthusiasms were myriad, and his work focused on an almost incredible range of subjects, including but not limited to entymology, ichthyology, anthopology, history, and astronomy. The very smallest of earth's creatures, like insects, captivated him no less than the universe’s very largest—planetary bodies and the cosmos. All of his work was informed by an unrivaled art-historical expertise, lead by a wholly unique imagination, and driven by an omniverous curiousity for life and the very nature of existence.

A Knight of the French Legion of Honor and an Interior Design Hall of Fame inductee, Despont also authored design books. He exhibited his paintings and sculptures globally, notably at the Marlborough Gallery in New York, London, and Monaco.