Pierre Edouard Frere
Realist painter Pierre Edouard Frere is one of the most popular genre painters of mid-19th century France. He is best known for domestic scenes with peasant children and his paintings are marked by a sentimentality and sincerity. Frere studied with academic painter Paul Delaroche before attending the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. His tender scenes were successful in his native France as well as in England and America, and his work was touted by John Ruskin. In 1847 he moved to the village of Ecouen outside of Paris, where he continued to paint and acted as the leader of the Ecole d’Ecouen.
Biographical sketch courtesy of Skinner Inc., Boston.