NOTES
This delicate, but confidently executed drawing shows the early artistic beginnings of one of the most revered Impressionist painters, Camille Pissarro. Born on the Caribbean Island of St. Thomas, he was sent to high school in France between 12 and 17. There, he took drawing lessons and visited the Louvre Museum, where he absorbed the history of European art. On his return to his native St. Thomas, he continued to draw, while also working in his family’s business. His French teacher advised him to draw palm trees—advice he took in this work, where the trees subtly dominate the scene. Pissarro was a voracious draftsman from his earliest days, and his output of drawings as well as prints is large and wide-ranging.
