Memoirs

« PAUL DURAND-RUEL,
MEMOIRS OF THE FIRST IMPRESSIONNIST ART DEALER (1831-1922) »

Revised, corrected and annotated by
Paul-Louis Durand-Ruel and Flavie Durand-Ruel,
Flammarion, Paris, 2014
(in French or in English).

(ISBN 978-2-0813-2998-0 & ISBN 978-2-08-020171-3)

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« My madness had been wisdom. To think that, had I passed away at sixty, I would have died debt-ridden and bankrupt, surrounded by a wealth of underrated treasures… » Paul Durand-Ruel.

Paul Durand-Ruel was a visionary figure in the history of art, as much for his talent at discovering and defending young artists as for the manner in which he redefined the role of the professional contemporary art dealer.

His memoirs give direct evidence on the crucial role he played during one of the most important period of French Art.

Paul Durand-Ruel wrote his memoirs on several occasions (prior 1911, and post 1912), as well as a number of fragmented and unpublished texts, covering key periods of his lifetime, and enriching some of the ones he judged most important (such as his encounter with Edouard Manet in 1872).

Paul-Louis Durand-Ruel and Flavie Durand-Ruel have combined divers texts in which Paul Durand-Ruel tells us about his life. They have also identified the works of art, the artists and the individuals mentioned. Furthermore, they have thought useful to also quote other texts written about Paul Durand-Ruel, as well as a choice of letters illustrating the relationships between the artists and their art dealer – these relationships were based on mutual and sincere trust and support.

His memoirs were first published in French in 1939 and are now translated for the first time into English, by Deke Dusinberre, with supplemental archival information. They chronicle the emergence of the Impressionists and their controversial rise to success, and provide a first-hand account of how, as patron and promoter, he brought artists such as Degas, Manet, and Millet – whose works are now considered invaluable – to the international stage.

« Paul Durand-Ruel, Memoirs of the First Impressionist Art Dealer (1831-1922) » available from 17th September 2014 – ISBN: 9782081329980

Visual: Archives Durand-Ruel © Durand-Ruel & Cie., rights reserved

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