Caillebotte Made a Good "Impression"

Gustave Caillebotte was a man for his time. A painter of note whose short artistic career brought modest recognition in his lifetime, he aligned himself with the Impressionists, though he painted in a far more realistic style than others in the group.

It was as a patron of the arts however, that he left his real legacy. Born to an upper class Parisian family in 1848, Caillebotte inherited a fortune in1874 when his father passed away. This not only allowed him to paint without the pressure to sell his work, it also allowed him to help fund Impressionist exhibitions and support his artist friends including Monet, Renoir and Pissarro, at a time when their work was mostly despised. He purchased an abundance of their works and, at least in the case of Monet, paid the rent on his studio.

Lot 115, Caillebottes "River Landscape"

Caillebotte the painter ceased showing his work at age 34 and devoted himself to building and racing yachts, and also tending his garden at his home on Petit-Gennevilliers, where he died of pulmonary congestion at age 45. His art was largely forgotten until the 1950s when descendants began selling the family collection. By the 1970s, his works were being exhibited again and critically reassessed, with forty of his works ending up in the Musée dOrsay.

Painter and Impressionist champion Gustave Caillebotte, and his 1880 work "Interieur"

The life and works of Gustave Caillebotte are highlighted on Wednesday, July 15, when Kodner Galleries auctions off “River Landscape (top),” an oil on canvass, as part of their Antiques, Fine Art, Jewelry & Decorative Art sale. 383 lots go under the hammer, offering a stunning diversity of collectables at prices to please every pocket.

Lot 134, an early 20th Century Russian Faberge silver and guilloche enamel five piece tea service

Look now at the full catalog for Kodner Galleries’ Antiques, Fine Art, Jewelry & Decorative Art sale.