Orsay Museum Prize 2026 Price

Established in 2006, the Musée d'Orsay Prize is awarded annually to a doctoral thesis in art history, primarily focusing on the second half of the 19th ^century , with the aim of facilitating its publication. The prize is worth €10,000, comprising a €1,000 prize and €9,000 to support the publication of the work.

Too few theses, some of which represent groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of art, receive public dissemination. The Musée d'Orsay Prize thus contributes to enriching the field of art history, while also strengthening ties between the museum and universities through a shared commitment to supporting young researchers.

2026 Price

Applications for the 2026 Musée d'Orsay Prize are open until January 6, 2026 .

The Musée d'Orsay Prize is open to art history theses focusing on art from the period 1848-1914, provided their authors wish to have them published. These theses may cover all artistic fields of this period (painting, sculpture, decorative arts, architecture, photography, etc.) and must demonstrate clearly defined methodological approaches. They must represent a substantial contribution to the understanding and reflection on this artistic period.

The prize will be awarded to a thesis defended at a university (French, or foreign of an equivalent level), at the École pratique des hautes études, at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales or at the École des Chartes, or to a third cycle thesis from the École du Louvre, less than five years old at the time of publication of the call.

The candidate must:

1/ Provide information about the application and the thesis by completing the online form available at this address .

2/ Gather the documents in digital format:

• 1. Volumes of the thesis

• 2. Defense Report

• 3. Certificate of thesis defense and award

• 4. Summary and keywords

• 5. Curriculum Vitae mentioning works and publications

• 6. Publication plan specifying how the manuscript will be revised for publication (content, number of characters, illustrations, target audience, prospective publishers)

• 7. If applicable, a letter of acceptance of the manuscript by a publishing house

3/ Submit the application according to the following procedures:

• All documents must be named with their content preceded by the candidate's LAST NAME (LASTNAME_01_These.pdf; LASTNAME_02_Report-defense.pdf; LASTNAME_03_Certificate-defense.pdf; LASTNAME_04_Resume-keywords.pdf; LASTNAME_05_CV.pdf; LASTNAME_06_Project-publication.pdf; LASTNAME_07_Letter-acceptance.pdf; other documents are possible)

• The documents will be compiled into a file named NAME.zip bearing the candidate's NAME.

• To be sent byFrance Transfer indicating prix-orsay[AT]musee-orsay.fr as the recipient

• On the France Transfert page, via the gear icon in the bottom left corner of the "email" window: extend the link validity period until January 10, 2026

4/ Send a printed copy of the thesis

A printed copy of the thesis must be sent by mail to the President of the Musée d'Orsay and Musée de l'Orangerie. This copy will be added to the library of the Daniel Marchesseau Research and Resource Center after the application process for the Musée d'Orsay Prize is complete, where it will be available for consultation. If the applicant objects to the thesis being shared publicly, this must be explicitly stated in their application letter.