The George A. Lucas Collection

The George A. Lucas Collection is a remarkable group of 19th-century artworks assembled by Baltimore-born art dealer George A. Lucas. After moving to Paris in 1857, Lucas built relationships with many artists and helped American collectors acquireEuropean art.

At the same time, Lucas developed his own collection, which eventually grew to nearly 20,000 objects. It includes paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, books, and artists’ tools.

The collection is especially known for its prints by artists such as Édouard Manet and Charles-François Daubigny, as well as works by American artists living in France, including Mary Cassatt and James Abbott McNeill Whistler. Lucas often collected multiple impressions of a print to study variations in technique.

Lucas hoped the collection would support learning in Baltimore. The BMA acquired it in 1996.