Camille Pissarro, 1830-1903

Johan Hansen, Denmark (acquired in Paris circa 1880)
Estate of the above (sale: Bruun Rasmussen, Copenhagen, circa 1967)
Purchased at the above sale by the family of the present owner

Pissarro was born on the Caribbean island of Saint Thomas, where his parents had settled in 1824. In 1841 he was sent to boarding school near Paris and it was during outings to the Louvre and the Salons that he learnt about the traditions of Western Art. At school his drawing skills were encouraged and his art master's advice was to "draw from nature during your holidays - as many coconut trees as you can!". On Pissarro's return to Saint Thomas, he became a clerk, but the arrival in 1851 of the Danish painter, Fritz Melbye proved the catalyst for his development as a painter. In 1852 they decided to leave the island that was becoming claustrophobic to Pissarro, and in late October of that year they boarded a boat for Caracas, where Pissarro was to continue in his development as a painter.

At the end of 1853 however, the death of Pissarro's younger brother, Gustave, caused his family to write and ask him to return to Saint Thomas. He returned for a year to help in the family business, patiently painting the island surroundings in his spare time, and waiting for the opportunity to leave for Europe. It was during this sojourn with his family that the following four works were painted. They are a rare testimony to the burgeoning skill of Pissarro as a young artist and show his technique of observing nature en plein air.