Camille Pissarro (1830-1903) was among the most significant contributors to the
Impressionist movement and was universally championed by his fellow artists. He
trained with Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (see lot 13), was a student of and friend to
Claude Monet (lots 21 and 22), a mentor and teacher to Paul Cézanne (lots 38-42) and
Paul Gauguin (lots 44 and 45), and collaborated with Georges Seurat, Paul Signac
(lots 67-69) and the Neo Impressionists. In 1873, along with Edgar Degas (lots 28
and 29) and Monet, he helped write the manifesto for the formation of Société
Anonyme des Artistes, Peintres, Sculpteurs et Graveurs, solidifying the birth of
Impressionism. Pissarro was the only Impressionist to be included in each of the eight
exhibitions organized by the Société from 1874 to 1886. The Parisian gallerist and
publisher Ambroise Vollard consulted Pissarro when he opened his gallery and began
navigating the art world. Pissarro would, in turn, refer collectors to Vollard for works
by fellow Impressionists and was especially supportive of Cézanne and Gauguin.
Throughout his career, Pissarro was considered a humble mediator by his contemporaries
and remained focused on the quality of his work rather than the accumulation of
critical accolades.
Of the Impressionists, Pissarro was the most prolific printmaker and produced nearly
200 etchings and lithographs from 1863 to 1902. He used printmaking primarily as an
outlet for exploring new imagery. Technically, he pushed the medium to its limits
through his manipulation of the etching plates, becoming so enthusiastic that he
purchased his own etching press in 1894. He experimented with Degas to produce
prints with impressionistic effects and, in turn, Degas printed color proofs of some of
Pissarro’s etchings (including lot 24,
Crépuscule
). In the 1890s, Pissarro also
contributed a number of lithographs to publications by French Anarchist-Communist
Jean Grave (including lot 27,
La Charrue
, for the journal
Les Temps Nouveaux
, to
accompany a lecture by Anarchist Prince Kropotkin). This is the only color lithograph
Pissarro produced, as he found color lithography to be wholly lacking as a medium
for the specific representation of nature that he sought.
In the Armory Show, Pissarro was counted among the Realists by the American
organizing committee, much in the legacy of his predecessor Gustave Courbet
(though his teacher, Corot, was surprisingly included with the Classicists). His work
was exhibited in Gallery O with his peers Monet, Renoir, Degas, Seurat and Signac.
Like those of his friend Monet, three of Pissarro’s paintings in the exhibition were
lent by the prominent Parisian gallery Durand-Ruel (the most valuable one priced at
$5,500, or around $130,000 today; none of these found buyers). His impact in the
Armory Show is similar to his legacy on the history of art; as an artist he was
incredibly significant as a champion of modern art during his lifetime, while today
his work itself is viewed today as part of the larger transition to modern art.
