[1] She curated notable exhibitions such as Large monographie Renoir, Cézanne et Un ami Van Gogh: Le Docteur Gachet, 'and 'Paul Signac (1863-1935) or The Mystery et l'éclat.
She organised a lecture, "Renoir and the Woman of Paris", at The Frick Collection art museum in 2012.
[2] She authored Renoir : « Il faut embellir » (1993), a lavishly illustrated pocket book for the collection "Découvertes Gallimard", which has been translated into six languages, including English; and Renoir, a 400-page book packaged in a box set, published in English in 2010.
[3] During an interview with Éditions Gallimard, Distel observed that collectors—for example, Albert C. Barnes—played a very important role in Renoir's life, and were the cause of evolution of his style.
The foundation had a goal of education consistent with Barnes' very democratic ideas about the spread of culture.