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Camille Pissarro

Camille Pissarro (1830 - 1903) was a French impressionist painter.


The garden at Pontoise
Painted 1877

Camille Pissarro was born in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands on July 10, 1830. He moved to Paris, France in 1855 and studied there with the French landscape artist Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot.

Known as the "Father of Impressionism", he painted rural French life, particularly landscapes and workers in the fields as well as scenes from Montmartre. He then went to Paris to teach where some of his students were Paul Cezanne and Paul Gauguin.

In March 1893, famous Paris Gallery Durand-Ruel organised a major exhibition of 46 of Pissarro's works along 55 others by Antonio de La Gandara. But while Gandara was acclaimed by the critics, their appraisal of Pissarro's art was less enthusiastic.

During his lifetime, Camille Pissarro was able to sell very few of his paintings. Recent sales of some paintings by Pissarro have been in the $4 million dollar range.

He died in Paris on November 12, 1903 and was buried in Père Lachaise, Paris, France.