The “Father of Impressionism” is getting his largest US exhibition in more than four decades.
Born on the island of St. Thomas, Camille Pissarro rejected his family’s merchant background in favor of painting, married the household maid, and relocated to France, where he became the only artist to appear in all eight of Paris’ impressionist exhibitions.
The Honest Eye at the Denver Art Museum includes nearly a hundred works reflecting not only a pioneer of style — Pissarro’s soft lines and brushwork, done almost exclusively en plein air, would become impressionist hallmarks — but also an artist who “acted like a father” in mentoring a peer group that included Claude Monet and other major impressionists, the exhibition’s sponsor told The Denver Gazette.