Painted during a critical period of transition in Dufy’s early career, Le Port du Havre is one of the first works in which the artist began to explore a new, vibrant and freer colouristic expression anticipating his Fauve period. The painting depicts the working harbour and marina that belongs to the artist’s hometown, Le Havre. Dufy brings this industrial scene to life through his animated use of colour, juxtaposing the dark silhouettes of metal machinery against a yellow sunrise and deep crimson sea. The atmosphere is hazy, with billowing smoke perforating the soft morning sky, and murky shadows cast across the water. This heaviness is lifted through his dynamic brushstrokes of brilliant colour, where turquoise, lilac, orange and light blue dance side-by-side on the surface of the sea.

Dufy’s canvases between 1901 and 1902 were painted during a period of Impressionist influence, having absorbed their techniques at Le Havre’s École des Beaux-Arts. The shift to a more colourful palette and looser brushwork began towards the end of 1902. In that year the pioneering dealer Berthe Weill would represent Dufy, giving him access to the artistic developments of the Parisian avant-garde including those of Matisse and Picasso. Three years later, Dufy would fully embrace Fauvist ideals, becoming the leader of the Normandy division of the movement.