| Dufy was born in the northern French port city of Le Havre. He was from a large family of nine children and had to leave school and work at the age of 14. Together with his lifelong friend Emile Othon-Friesz hew studied art at night school. In 1900, they both received grants enabling him to attend the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where Dufy joined Bonnat's studio, and in 1902 he was introduced to Berthe Weill, who showed his work in her gallery. Marquets, Matisse's and van Dongens paintings which Dufy saw at the Salon des Indépendants in 1905, were a revelation to him and led him to Fauvism... Alongside his career as a painter, he also worked as a book illustrator and fabric designer. He took up print making as a result of his work with fabrics. By 1913 he was showing his work in Berlin, New York, Chicago and Boston. During the war he worked mainly at designing and printing patriotic posters. It was only after the first world war that he found his own personal style. He frequently visited Morocco, Cannes, Deauville and Trouville and his favourite subjects became bathers, regattas, casinos and palm trees, race courses and orchestras. His importance as an artist during the first half of the 20th century is inestimable and his works are shown in principal public collections world wide |
