Paul Durand-Ruel must be the art dealers’ dealer. As a well established dealer in Paris in the late 1800’s, he knew Claude Monet and was introduced to young Pierre-Auguste Renoir and his circle of friends including Camille Pissarro, Berthe Morisot, Alfred Sisley and others. He had the vision to bet the house on buying a massive stock of paintings by these artists which became labelled “Impressionists” after a journalist wrote that they only provided an impression. The name stuck.

From then on, Durand-Ruel ‘s life and dealing in Impressionist paintings were intertwined. There were incredible successes and assorted disasters including, we are told, him coping with a few national financial crises. Sounds familiar! Durand-Ruel held massive stocks of Impressionist work and was able to control prices. He was an innovator including the idea of exhibiting fifteen of Monet’s Poplar tree paintings in one exhibition, a formula that is still with us today.

Does anything change? Dealers still drive the art world and can make or break the careers of artists. They are true marketing professionals. I am sure that Paul Durand-Ruel would be entirely in tune with Larry Gagosian or Jay Jopling if they were to chat today.

The special relationship between artist and their dealer is clear in the exhibition “Inventing Impressionism” at the National Gallery in London (on until 31st May 2015). Seeing the history of the movement through the relationship with their dealer provides a different perspective and puts their wonderful work into a more succinct time frame.

By contrast, the Society portrait painter John Singer Sargent had a different career model and for me is the artist’s artist. Back in 1998, the Tate Britain had a wonderful exhibition of his glittering Society portraits from 1860 through to the early 1900’s. A new exhibition “Sargent- Portraits of Artists and Friends” now at the National Portrait Gallery in London until 25th May 2015 somehow complements this with a warmer, more personal touch. His circle of friends was wide and even today you would know many names. I liked the lanky Robert Louis Stevenson folded into his armchair at home in Bournemouth smoking a cigarette. Or a wonderful warm portrait of his friend, the writer Henry James. There are oils and water colours of friends painting in the studio and loafing around on holiday.

Sargent is still recognised as a massively talented artist and carved out a very successful career as a portrait painter to the rich and famous over 40 years. Wonderful as these paintings are, I am inspired that at the peak of his career he seems to have chosen to move on and spent his time painting just what he wanted. Maybe just getting on with what truly inspires you and still producing another wonderful body of work is the mark of a true master. His watercolour paintings of Venice are just exquisite. There was a brilliant exhibition of them in Venice in 2007 “Sargent in Venice” at Museo Correr. Just great!

What was his big break that kicked off his career? The guy was talented, but I think he was also incredibly “well connected”, which I am sure generated commissions and fed his career with new customers. We hear that exactly the same is true today with “well connected” musicians and artists with backgrounds in certain Art Schools, red brick universities or the right Public Schools “getting on”. Recognising the talent of an “outsider” has always been tough. Reflecting upon when and where in the world the talents of outsiders was or is recognised and developed would make an interesting read. Not today though.

Whether it is the power of dealers to shape the careers of artists or personal connections helping an artistic career, I suspect nothing has changed over 100 years.

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