AMAWATERWAYS DONATES ART COLLECTION TO FRENCH RETIREES

[HostDave]

Calabasas, CA - (Jan. 7, 2014) - Award-winning river cruise line AmaWaterways will donate the entire art collection from one of its ships, the AmaLegro, to a home for retired senior citizens in Normandy, France. The artwork – consisting of 53 reproductions of Impressionist paintings – will be delivered to the Residence Saint Jean retirement home in Bosc-le-Hard in January 2014.

AmaWaterways has operated in northwestern France since 2013 and the 150-passenger AmaLegro cruises exclusively in the Seine River Valley. The company recently replaced the ship’s existing artwork.

“We love to showcase beautiful artwork aboard all our ships,” said Wade Korzan, Managing Director of AmaWaterways’ European Operations. “Our Basel-based team wanted to find a good home for the AmaLegro’s former art collection and these paintings will make a lovely addition to the décor of the Residence Saint Jean. It’s a wonderful opportunity to contribute to the local community.”

Several paintings will also be donated to the local city hall, located in a majestic manor known as the Petit Chateau. Bosc-le-Hard is a small village located 15 kilometers north of Rouen with about 1,500 French residents. According to local legend, Joan of Arc stayed in the village for one night in 1430 during her transfer to a prison cell in Rouen. She was later canonized a saint by the Roman Catholic Church.

Normandy may be best known for its role in the D-Day invasion of WWII, an event that commemorates its 70th anniversary in 2014. The region also has a rich artistic heritage, with Monet’s world-renowned home and gardens in Giverny and Rouen’s Gothic cathedral, which played a key role in inspiring the revolutionary Impressionist Art movement.

“We’re so happy that this artwork will be put to good use, in a place where it can be enjoyed by so many people,” said Lilo Lehmann, AmaWaterways’ Ship Operations Coordinator for the Seine region. “Life is much too short not to be surrounded by beautiful things.”
AmaLegro serves AmaWaterways’ 7-night Paris & Normandy cruise, which features excursions to the region’s infamous D-Day beaches, Rouen, Monet’s gardens and Van Gogh’s former home in Auvers-sur-Oise. An optional 2-night land extension in Paris is also available. Guests traveling in 2014 can save $1,000 per stateroom or waive the single supplement on select departures as part of the cruise line’s D-Day anniversary year promotion.