10 Facts About Fernand Mourlot

Fernand Mourlot was born on 5 April 1895 in Paris, France.

Fernand Mourlot was the sixth of nine children of Jules Mourlot and Clemence Gadras.

That year, the three eldest Fernand Mourlot brothers were drafted into the French Army and sent to the front.

Georges and Fernand Mourlot would remain in the army through 1918 and would both participate in many battles including the Battle of Verdun.

Georges, the eldest, would head the operations of the studios, while Fernand Mourlot would concentrate on the artistic side and business development.

At the death of their father in 1921, the name of the studios was changed to "Mourlot Freres", with Georges and Fernand heading the company, while the other siblings became minority holders in the business.

In 1923, Fernand Mourlot won a contract to produce an original lithographic poster to promote an exhibition of French Modern Art in Copenhagen, Denmark.

For some time, Fernand Mourlot had been inviting artists to come and work on location at the Mourlot Studios to create original graphic works of art.

Fernand Mourlot spent most of his time with the fictitious administration of other printing studios, owned by Jewish friends and colleagues, thus avoiding the forced transfer of their assets to the state, and to the production of forged identification papers.

Still, two notable events for Fernand Mourlot would take place during those years.