PARIS.- After 16 years dedicated to the expansion and internationalisation of the Salon du dessin, Hervé Aaron (Galerie Didier Aaron & Cie) has passed the torch to Louis de Bayser (Galerie de Bayser), appointed Chairman of the Salon du dessin. Hervé Aaron’s energy and ability to listen, coupled with the work of his associates and the board of organisers, and with exhibitors growing more enthusiastic every year, have borne fruit as the Salon du dessin has become readily acknowledged by collectors, institutions, researchers and the press as the best specialised art show in the world.

Louis de Bayser comes from a scientific and business studies background, but has always been surrounded by old drawings, which are the specialty of the gallery that his grandparents Patrick and Rose-Anne founded in 1936 and was taken over by his father, Bruno de Bayser, in the 1960s. Louis de Bayser made his first purchases of drawings while still at ESSEC, from which he graduated in 1996. In 1998, he took over management of the gallery, becoming increasingly involved in artistic activity. Louis de Bayser’s attachment to the Salon du dessin is great, since it was in the course of this event that he took his first steps as a professional in the art market. In 2000, he succeeded his father as member of the board of organisers. Louis de Bayser therefore has perfect knowledge of the evolution and challenges of the Salon. In this regard, he pays tribute to the presidency of Hervé Aaron, who enabled the Salon du dessin "to successfully adapt to the globalisation of the art market and to be the art show that, with regard to drawings, sets the standards worldwide. The Salon du dessin is of even greater importance in these times of economic crisis, enabling Paris to retain its role as stronghold of the art market." Louis de Bayser identifies his mission as a work of sustainability "in both the leadership and fraternal spirit of Salon du dessin, which have jointly ensured its success."