A famous French and American flower painter, Paul de Longpre was the most significant watercolor specialist to arrive in Los Angeles in the late 19th century and became the city's first major still-life painter. It is likely he was the first southern California painter to earn a major national reputation.
He was born in Lyons, France, where he was a member of the aristocratic, although not wealthy, Maucherat de Longpre family. Growing up in Lyon, noted for many flower painters because it was the center of the textile-design industry, he was exposed to that subject matter from his youth. At age twelve, he was in Paris, using his obvious talent to paint flowers on fans. By age 21, he had a painting accepted at the Paris Salon. He studied in Paris at the Ecole des Beaux Arts with Jean Leon Gerome and Leon Bonnat and became well known in France, especially with a successful exhibition at the American Art Galleries.
