Bernard Cathelin was born in Paris in 1919. Throughout his life, he has maintained a deep-rooted love for his country and especially for the Drome, his mother's home. He attended school for classical studies in the lycées Carnot and Janson de Sailly in Paris, and the lycée Emile Loubet in Valence. In 1939 he joined the army. Upon returning home from service, in 1945, and for the next three years he studied at French National School for further studies in the Decorative Arts, and in the studio of Maurice Brianchon.

The Musée de Valence dedicated to him, a retrospective of his work in the summer of 1997. This exhibition drew in local and worldwide visitors and established a new record for the museum.

In 2000, the Shanghai Art Museum in China organized a retrospective exhibition presenting 40 years of Bernard Cathelin’s works.

Bernard Cathelin died on April 17 2004, but great exhibitions are always dedicated to him in France, while others are in preparation across the world.