Thomas Henry Museum (Musée Thomas Henry)

Jean-François Millet, one of France's most celebrated 19th-century painters, learned his craft by copying works from this very collection as a young man. Born in a village near Cherbourg, young Millet would visit the museum regularly, studying the Old Masters before eventually moving to Paris. This connection led the museum to actively acquire Millet's early works starting in 1915, building its current collection of his paintings and portraits of family members.

The museum's sculpture collection includes 'Tête de brigand' (Head of a Brigand) by Camille Claudel, the famous sculptor and companion of Auguste Rodin. This piece arrived through a series of gifts from Baron Alphonse de Rothschild between 1902 and 1904, who donated several significant works to enhance the museum's holdings.

Thomas Henry had an adventurous life before becoming an art patron. After leaving Cherbourg, he worked in Bordeaux and then traveled to Saint-Domingue (present-day Haiti) in the Caribbean. He returned to France following the Haitian Revolution and eventually settled in Paris, where he studied painting and became the Royal Museums' Commissioner Expert from 1816 to 1832. Having no children, he chose to leave his entire art fortune to his hometown.