HE WAS ridiculed in his own time for his unusual taste in art, shocking the establishment with his collection of fledgling Impressionist artists.
Now, the family of Paul Durand-Ruel have spoken of their joy as the collector is recognised as the “inventor” of Impressionism in the first major exhibition celebrating his work.
They have given their seal of approval to the National Gallery’s
Durand-Ruel: Risked all for art
exhibition, which opened last Wednesday, will hear how he guided the careers of new artists in the 1870s, becoming a “passionate advocate” for the likes of Monet, Pissarro, Degas and Renoir when their work was baffling the establishment.
As well as taking their paintings around the globe in an attempt to convince the world they were the next big thing, Durand-Ruel supported artists financially, even paying their rent and offering them studio space when times were hard.
So important was he to the Impressionist movement, at a time when now-famous artists were ridiculed and ignored, that Monet is reported to have said: “Without him, we wouldn’t have survived.”
The family, who have lent items and expertise from the collector’s archive to the exhibition and helped to write the catalogue, visited the National Gallery to see the results.
Claire Durand-Ruel, his great-great-granddaughter and an art expert, said the exhibition shows her ancestor vindicated in the face of contemporary critics.
“It was horrible; the public were totally against this kind of art,” she said. “It took him decades to have the work accepted, and it only happened after he left Europe to go to the US.
“He was ruined several times, and put all his money into supporting the artists. He bought thousands and thousands of works; he believed in it.
“It’s no exaggeration to say that if it wasn’t for him, we would not have all this, the Impressionists, today.”
The 48-year-old art historian, who specialises in Pissarro, said: “It’s the first major exhibition to tell the story in full.
“We’re really pleased as a family that more people will be able to learn about it and see the works.”
Paul-Louis Durand-Ruel, the dealer’s 79-year-old great-grandson, retired from finance 15 years ago and has since been working in the Durand-Ruel archives, specialising in Renoir.
He said that he, too, was “very pleased” to see his ancestor fully recognised after “all this time”.
Inventing Impressionism will now show off 85 of the masterpieces of the era, featuring paintings by Monet, Manet, Renoir, Rodin, Rousseau, Millet, Corot, Courbet, Delacroix, Pissarro, Daubigny, Sisley, Degas, Morisot, Cezanne, Boudin and Mary Cassatt.
Star works include five of Monet’s famous Poplars series, shown together for the first time since 1892, and all three of Renoir’s Dances.
During decades of struggling to convince the public that the Impressionists were skilled artists, DurandRuel bought an estimated 12,000 paintings, including 1,000 by Monet, 1,500 Renoirs, 800 from Pissarro and 400 by Degas.
At the age of 89, he is said to have declared: “At last the Impressionist masters triumphed… My madness has been wisdom.”
The exhibition, awarded five stars by Telegraph critic Richard Dorment, runs until May 31.