Raoul Dufy 1877 – 1953 Longchamp Racecourse, Paris

Dufy was born in 1872 in Le Harve one of nine children. His father was a professional man and a musician and he played the organ in the local church. The children were all brought up with music very much at the centre of their lives. Raoul preferred art. Due to financial problems he left school at 14. He was enrolled in the Academy des Beaux Arts in Le Harve. It was around this time he met George Braque. In 1900 he moved to Paris where he met Boudin, Monet and Pissaro. He immersed himself in the various art movements, Cubism, Favism, Impressionism and it must have been a very exciting time for this young man on the road to his own discovery. By 1939 he had established his own style which is so easily identified. He used colour to create light, and light to create movement. The world he created runs closely to illustration as he sees patterns in everything, and takes scenes and breaks them up into pieces and then unites them like a puzzle. Always the main character in his work is easy to identify. All his art works are recorded.

I have been assured by various experts that this painting is a fake, or a copy, but I don’t really care. I love it and I like the fact that someone can paint just like Dufy.

Purchased from Crows Auction House, Dorking.