Raoul Dufy (French 1877 to 1953)
In 1900 he studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and experimented with Impressionism admiring the works of Monet and Pissarro, but by 1904 he had adopted the Fauve style of Matisse and began to work in richer colors. He developed his own theory of coleur-lumiere, (heightened ambient color/light) and was the only Fauve whose work retained this brightness. About a year after the war, around 1919 he enjoyed a prolonged stay on the French Riviera where his art blossomed into his distinctive style characterized by rapid calligraphic drawing in bright and decorative colors. It was during his stay at towns like Provence and Vence that he created the harmonious images of olive trees in a landscape.
Information courtesy of New Orleans Auction