Jacqueline Badord

Jacqueline Badord was born in Provence, France in 1917 into a musical family. Though her parents hoped she would play violin, she found herself drawn to Beethoven’s piano symphonies and, more importantly, to sketching. At a young age she attended the School of Fine Arts of Toulon, where she continued to develop her talents in drawing and sculpting. Her passion for sculpture led her to meet her husband, Olivier Descamps, and they married in 1942, creating works together in tandem.
In 1959, Badord and Descamps moved to Paris with their three children. After architects noticed her work at her first exhibition, she received commissions to create pieces for public spaces across Europe and Canada. Her most monumental sculptures are in Provence, crafted from their studio in the heart of Paris’s Latin Quarter. Badord has always welcomed visitors to her studio, inviting them to explore her jewelry, models, and sketches while she explains her tireless process of reworking each piece from the first spontaneous pencil stroke to completion.
Badord insists that drawing well requires constant practice and research, always examining the expression of movement. She carries a sketchbook and pencil everywhere, filling each page with scenes from her life that inspire her musical sculptures. She has published two limited edition books, “New York” and “Cello,” and recently received the prize for sculpture at the Institute of the Academy of Fine Arts. Badord is represented by Park West Gallery.