Claude Monet once said of Paul Durand-Ruel: 'We owe him everything.' Monet's Fir trees at Varengeville (1882) will be among the works on show at the Geelong Gallery from 20 June, as part of the most ambitious exhibition in the gallery's 130-year history.
In March 1886, the French art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel sailed to New York with more than 300 paintings, including 43 by Monet and 35 by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. In Paris, the establishment mocked the impressionists for their radical use of colour and bold brushstrokes. Durand-Ruel, on the brink of financial ruin, was one of their few champions. Their last hope was to find new collectors abroad. His bet paid off: in the US, the impressionists found their first receptive public, rescuing them from obscurity and turning impressionism into a global phenomenon.
From New York to Geelong
More than 70 paintings that passed through Durand-Ruel's hands have now made another cross-continental journey to a port city on Australia's southern coast. They are exhibited at the Geelong Gallery in Discovering the Impressionists: Paul Durand-Ruel, art dealer among artists.
Claire Durand-Ruel, the dealer's great-great-granddaughter and co-curator of the exhibition, says it would have been 'no surprise' to her ancestor that these paintings travelled to regional Australia. She studied archival records detailing his efforts to ship paintings to America and Russia in the 19th century. 'He wanted to go as far as he could, to send the works as far as he could, all of his life,' she says. 'That was the policy of the Durand-Ruel Gallery. You cannot bring the people to your gallery, that's difficult, so the works have to move to the people.'
A Homage to Underappreciated Artists
The exhibition features works by Monet, Renoir, Berthe Morisot, and Camille Pissarro, almost all on loan from private collections in Europe. Alongside these giants are pieces by lesser-known impressionists championed by Durand-Ruel: Albert André, Georges d'Espagnat, Gustave Loiseau, Maxime Maufra, and Henry Moret. Co-curator Marianne Mathieu believes these painters have been neglected because their careers lacked the dramatic rupture from the establishment that defined their forerunners. 'We want to put this generation at the level they deserve,' she says.
Claire Durand-Ruel believes visitors will instinctively understand why her ancestor backed these painters. She gestures to a large oil-on-canvas by André depicting a nude woman flanked by peacocks with iridescent feathers. 'It is incredibly beautiful. That's what [Durand-Ruel] saw,' she says. 'These works deserve to be exhibited now because of both the quality of the art and the opportunity to educate people about other artists. He believed in them totally.'
The Dealer's Legacy
The show is also a homage to Durand-Ruel, who at times single-handedly kept artists employed by buying their paintings when no one else would, nearly bankrupting himself twice. Monet said, 'Without Durand, we would have died of hunger, all of us impressionists. We owe him everything.' Monet used a loan from Durand-Ruel to buy his property at Giverny, where he lived for more than 40 years painting water lilies.
To artists, Durand-Ruel was 'a paterfamilias, a confidant, a friend and a banker all rolled into one,' Claire writes in the exhibition catalogue. She is amazed by his faith in the paintings through years of public condemnation. 'He had both vision and stubbornness,' she says. 'He was so optimistic. He's very impressive.'
Why Impressionism Still Matters
Today, the artists Durand-Ruel supported are some of the most famous in history, with works selling for hundreds of millions of dollars. Australia has held major French impressionism shows in 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2025, some cut short by pandemic lockdowns. While some critics see these shows as formulaic crowd-pullers, Mathieu believes there is still much to learn. 'I'm searching every day, all the time, and there are still things to bring into the light,' she says.
Both curators hope the exhibition sparks emotions. 'I want visitors to have a sense of beauty,' Mathieu says. 'I want them to experience how wonderful these paintings are. These paintings of colour, of light, of happiness and hope.' Claire adds, 'It's pure joy. In today's world, it's what people need.'
Discovering the Impressionists: Paul Durand-Ruel, art dealer among the artists runs from 20 June to 11 October at Geelong Gallery.
