The Musée Albert Dubout, housed on two floors in an 18th-century tower, the Redoute de Ballestras, features some 100 original drawings by the humorist and objects that once belonged to him.
Albert Dubout was born in Marseille in 1905, and studied in Nîmes, then at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Montpellier. It was in Paris that he met with success, working closely with some forty newspapers and magazines: Pêle-Mêle, Ric et Rac, Le Rire, Fantasio, Gringoire, Marianne, La Bataille, Ici Paris... Yet he retained a deep affection for the south of France, spending the last 10 years of his life between Paris and Palavas-les-Flots.
From 1924 to 1973, Albert Dubout drew for some 250 newspapers and magazines, a figure that is unique in the world today.
Also on display are books, posters, postcards and memorabilia such as his drawing table, pipe, drawing pens and correspondence, notably with Marcel Pagnol, of whom he was a close friend.
Albert Dubout is also renowned for his posters and illustrations for cinema, publishing and advertising. He illustrated the first poster for Marcel Pagnol's film César in 1936, marking the beginning of a long friendship between the two men. He went on to illustrate the posters for the trilogy Marius, Fanny, César, which proved a huge success, as well as La fille du puisatier et la femme du boulanger ... These original posters can also be discovered in the museum's thematic area "Dubout-Pagnol,couleurs du Sud", along with Dubout's illustrations for Pagnol's books.
Less well known are Albert Dubout's oil paintings (70 in all), whose subjects - mainly portraits and bullfighting scenes - offer a new, deeper and more intimate insight into the artist.
Entrance to the Musée Albert Dubout also gives you access to the Musée du Petit Train de Palavas, which for a century linked Palavas to Montpellier between 1872 and 1968.
Located in the Parc du Levant, it brings back to life the epic story of the little train that gave everyone access to the beach: the locomotive and its carriage, archive photos, collectors' items and some fifty illustrations by Albert Dubout, who made it one of his favorite subjects!
Dubout Museum
Ballestras Redoubt
Parc du Levant
34 Palavas-les-Flots
Tel.: 04 67 68 56 41
