Jane Schwarz collection of André Girard materials

André Girard, born in 1901 Chinon, France, was orphaned in 1915. He then entered the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs (National School of Decorative Arts) and, in 1916, the École des Beaux-Arts (School of Fine Arts). Fleeing the bombings, his family took refuge in Saumur with his grandparents in 1918. It was there that he met the painter Georges Rouault, whose student and friend he became. He was also enrolled in Pierre Bonnard's studio. Released from his military obligations in 1923, he then worked as a painter, caricaturist, theater set designer, and advertising poster artist. In 1925, he won the competition for the poster for the International Exhibition of Decorative Arts. He created, among other things, advertising posters for Duco (1928-29), Peugeot (1930), Mercier Frères (1930), Gitanes cigarettes (1930), Marconi (1935), Dubonnet, The Capehart, and Shell. In the 1930s, he was one of the most fashionable poster artists in Paris.

He married Andrée Jouan on April 5, 1924, in Asnières-sur-Seine and settled in Levallois-Perret, where his first two daughters, Évie (who would later marry pianist Jean Casadesus) and Gabrielle, known as Danièle (who would become an actress under the name Danièle Delorme), were born. Later, he moved to Neuilly. He also began a long collaboration with Columbia Records, illustrating numerous record covers and designing their logo. He also worked as a screenwriter and actor in early sound films, notably co-writing the screenplay for La Chienne (1931) with Jean Renoir.

From the moment Hitler came to power in Germany, Girard published numerous political cartoons in the press, including Les Échos, Paris-Midi, Paris-Soir, Match, Marianne, and Le Rire. In late 1940, he and a friend founded the CARTE Network (an anti-German, anti-Gaullist, anti-communist, and anti-collaborationist Resistance network). He left for the United States in 1943. Girard taught art at the College of Notre Dame of Maryland from 1948-1952, serving as a mentor to students and supporting the work of art professor Sister Noreen Gormley. He later taught at Queensborough Community College in Queens, New York.

In 1950, he used a technique he called "light painting," painting directly onto film using a process invented by Norman McLaren in the 1930s. His films were shown on national television and in local screenings. In 1952, he decorated several churches in New York, Vermont, and California, where he painted stained-glass windows or installed large murals. He died in Nyack, New York, in 1968.

Biography adapted from rare book seller Librairie L'amour qui bouquine.