History, content and structure
The Rubenianum manages the research archive of Marie-Louise Hairs (1912-1998) and makes it accessible for research. Hairs was attached to the University of Liège and is recognized as the leading authority on still lifes in Belgium. The archive includes the preparatory work undertaken for her numerous publications and correspondence on flower still lifes. In addition to typescripts and letters, the archive also contains notebooks and albums with picture postcards.
Marie-Louise Hairs was a close friend of the art lover Pierre de Séjournet, who incorporated her library and photographic documentation into his own collections after her death. The Rubenianum acquired De Séjournet’s library and documentation on works of art in 2011. It therefore also now possesses Hairs’s books and annotated photographs.
For more background information, see also the articles in The Rubenianum Quarterly 2013/3 and the RKDbulletin 2014/1.
Consulting this source
The collection is completely inventoried and searchable in our archival database. A detailed inventory (in Excel) of the correspondence is also available.
The material can be consulted in our reading room after a request through our collection catalogue.