User:Eli185/Veil-Picard Family

The Veil-Picard family (also known as Weil-Picard) is a French Jewish family, originally from the Upper Rhine.

Aaron Veil, born May 5, 1794 in Oberhagental, settled in Besançon where he worked as a banker. He died on October 20, 1868.

The Veil-Picard family had several patrons and philanthropists, the most famous being Adolphe Veil-Picard (1824-1877), son of Aaron, member of the Israelite Consistory of Lyon and benefactor of the city of Besançon. He contributed 200,000 francs to the financing of the renovation of the Arènes pier (located on the right bank of the Doubs) completed in 1878. This pier was named "Velo-Picard" in his honor in 1879.

In 1924, the sculptor Alfred Boucher erected a monument on the promenade Granvelle in Besançon in his memory.

The door of the synagogue's portal has a plaque with the inscription "door given by Mr. A. VEIL-PICARD in memory of his father 1869".

In 1888, the bankers Arthur-Georges and Edmond-Charles Veil-Picard bought the distillery of the same name from Louis Alfred Pernod. It retains its original name "Pernod fils" today.

The name Veil-Picard is also associated with the history of horse racing (écuries célèbres). It is also famous for its art collection.

Under the Nazi occupation of France, the family's assets were seized by the Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg. The Database of Art Objects at the Jeu de Paume E.R.R. Database contains a list of objects seized from Arthur Weil-Picard.