Camille Pissarro

Born on the Virgin Islands, Camille Pissarro was a leading figure of the Impressionist group. As the eldest, he was also something of a father figure to its younger members. On moving to Paris in 1855, he studied painting with Courbet, Daubigny and above all Corot. Pissarro was the only painter to exhibit at all eight of the Impressionist exhibitions in Paris between 1874 and 1886. The Franco-Prussian War (1870-1) caused him to flee to London, where he painted a charming series depicting the suburbs around Sydenham. During the 1880s he adopted elements of the Neo-Impressionist Pointillist technique, but returned once again to a more traditional Impressionist style towards the end of his life. Increasingly blind, he abandoned painting en plein air and retreated to his studio. He also acted as an important mentor to Post-Impressionists such as Cézanne, Gauguin and van Gogh.