Raoul Dufy (; 3 June 1877 – 23 March 1953) was a French Fauvist painter. He developed a colorful, decorative style that became fashionable for ceramics and textile designs, as well as decorative schemes for public buildings. He is noted for scenes of open-air social events. He was also a draftsman, printmaker, book illustrator, scenic designer, furniture designer and a planner of public spaces. Biography Early life Dufy was born into a large family at Le Havre, in Normandy. His younger brother, Jean Dufy, also became an artist. Dufy left school at the age of fourteen to work in a coffee-importing company. In 1895, aged 18, he started taking evening classes in art at Le Havre's École des Beaux-Arts (municipal art school). The classes were taught by Charles Lhuillier, who had been a student of the French portrait painter Ingres 40 years earlier. There Dufy met and Othon Friesz, with whom he later shared a studio in Montmartre and maintained a lifelong friendship. During this period, Dufy primarily painted Norman landscapes in watercolors. In 1900, after a year of military service, Dufy won a scholarship to the École Nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where again he crossed paths with Othon Friesz (he was also there when Georges Braque was studying). Dufy concentrated on improving his drawing skills and was profoundly influenced by the impressionist landscape painters, such as Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro. His first exhibition, at the Exhibition of French Artists, took place in 1901. Dufy was introduced to Berthe Weill in 1902 and showed his work in her gallery. He exhibited again in 1903, at the Salon des Indépendants. An early confidence boost came when the artist Maurice Denis bought one of his paintings. Dufy continued to paint, often in the vicinity of Le Havre and, in particular, on the beach at Sainte-Adresse, made famous by Eugène Boudin and Claude Monet. In 1904, he worked in Fecamp, on the English Channel (La Manche), with his friend Albert Marquet. Later years Henri Matisse's Luxe, Calme et Volupté, which Dufy saw at the Salon des Indépendants in 1905, directed his interests towards Fauvism. Les Fauves (the wild beasts) emphasized bright color and bold contours in their work. Dufy's painting reflected this aesthetic until about 1909, when contact with the work of Paul Cézanne led him to adopt a somewhat subtler technique. However, it was not until 1920, after he