Petit Rousset is the international affiliate of San Francisco Arts & Humanities Seminars, a non-profit educational organization founded in 1991. For fifteen years, SFAHS was the primary program provider in San Francisco for the international educational organization, Elderhostel, Inc. For Elderhostel, from 1991 through 2006, SFAHS created scores of programs and offered hundreds of arts & humanities workshops to thousands of participants in San Francisco and Northern California Wine Country. The founding director of SFAHS is Dr. Beverly Held. Dr. Held received her B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of Pennsylvania in Art History and Museum Studies. She holds a Ph.D. in Art History from the University of Michigan. Dr. Held has lectured extensively in the United States and abroad, from Washington, D.C. to Dunedin, New Zealand. Dr. Held has taught Art History at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia, Stanford University, California College for the Arts and San Francisco State University on topics ranging from Italian Renaissance Art to 18th century French Art and from the History of Cartoon & Caricature to Feminist Art History.

Dr. Held knows France well, particularly the Perigord, which she has been visiting for over twenty years. She has explored medieval hill towns and bastides (planned town); prehistoric caves and lofty fortresses; Renaissance châteaux and formal gardens. She has shopped for treasures at brocantes and vide greniers; fresh fruits and vegetables at Farmers' Markets. As her knowledge base grew, she was ready to combine it with the skills and talents she had been honing as Director of SFAHS – to offer programs and workshops in this intensely rural part of France. Dr. Held knew what she wanted to retain from her years of working with Elderhostel - a devotion to excellence in education and a commitment to experiential learning. Dr. Held also knew how she wanted the experience of people who joined her in the South of France to differ from the experience of those who had joined her in San Francisco. In San Francisco, she often welcomed fifty participants to a workshop. In the Perigord, she wanted to welcome smaller, more intimate groups of people. In San Francisco, SFAHS participants stayed at city hotels. In the Perigord, Dr. Held was convinced that a private home would be the ideal base from which to explore la France profonde.  She also believed that while people would enjoy staying in the countryside, they would not want to be remote, but would prefer being near a small village with a weekly Farmers’ Market. So she set out to find a suitable property that could be transformed into a welcoming home for small groups of people. In her search she was assisted by her husband, Charles Held, an architect with international design experience. They discovered Petit Rousset, a 17th century farmhouse and grange - a property where small groups of people could enjoy the tranquility of the Dordogne and learn something of its long and eventful history. With bucolic vistas in all directions, Petit Rousset is only a 40-minute stroll to a medieval bastide, Eymet, where a lively Farmers' Market has been held every Thursday morning since 1270.

Charles Held was charged with the task of finding local architects with whom to work on transforming the property into meeting rooms, dining rooms, a salon, as well as nine bedrooms, each with private bath. During the restoration and renovation of Petit Rousset, the goal, from the beginning, was to use native materials and traditional building techniques. A parallel goal was to be mindful of the convenience of future guests. Much of life in rural France is lived outdoors, with terraces to catch the morning sun and provide shade from the afternoon heat, and a refreshing swimming pool, there are ample opportunities to relax. In 2008 a new studio was added to the property, where painters can work day and night.

As the property was taking shape, Dr. Held was creating small group workshops for artists and itineraries for those interested in cultural and culinary history. Each châteaux and bastide; village, garden and cave with prehistoric painting, that you’ll visit, has been selected by Dr. Held. The food and wine of the Périgord region are as famous as the region's cave paintings. Dr. Held will make sure that you experience these culinary riches, too, from foie gras and walnut oil to Pecharment and Monbazillac wines. The stage is now set. Dr. Held looks forward to meeting you and sharing this little corner of paradise with you.

A bientôt!

Our philosophy: "Chez Nous/Chez Vous" We want you to feel at home in our little paradise.