(1884-1972)

Paulémile Pissarro, Camille’s youngest son, was born in Eragny in 1884. He was brought up in the artistic environment of the family home there and, encouraged by his father, began drawing at an early age. Paulémile’s godfather was Claude Monet who became his, mentor, teacher and confidante, particularly after Camille’s death in 1903.

In 1905, Paulémile exhibited at the “Salon des Independants” for the first time, showing an impressionist landscape entitled Bords de l’Epte à Eragny, and although his father had supported his desire to be an artist, his mother was eager for him to learn a more practical trade. In 1908 he put aside his artistic pursuits and worked as an automobile mechanic and test-driver, and then as a lace and textile designer, thus allowing him a little time to paint. While Paulémile was still working at the lace factory his brother Lucien, who lived in London, asked him to send over some watercolours, and the sale of these encouraged Paulémile to leave the factory and dedicate himself to painting.

By the 1920s, Paulémile had become an established Post Impressionist artist in his own right, sharing a studio with Dutch Fauvist Painter Kees Van Dongen (1877-1968) and spending the summer months escaping from Paris with him and fellow artist Maurice de Vlaminck. In 1924 he moved to Lyons-la-Foret, a small town near Eragny, where he painted his surroundings with great pleasure, returning again and again to the placid waters of the River Epte winding its way among willows, meadows and hills.