The Honest Eye: Camille Pissarro

The Honest Eye: Camille Pissarro’s Impressionism is the first major U.S. retrospective of Camille Pissarro, known as "the first impressionist," in over 40 years. The exhibition will present an overview of the artist’s illustrious career and examine his singular role within the Impressionist movement, bringing together more than 80 paintings from nearly 50 international museums and private collections, alongside six works from the Denver Art Museum's holdings.

Born on the island of St. Thomas in what was then the Danish West Indies (now the U.S. Virgin Islands) to French Jewish parents, Pissarro spent time in Caracas and La Guaira, Venezuela, before settling in Paris in 1855. There, he became acquainted with a group of young artists who were challenging the traditional modes of painting and would eventually go on to birth the Impressionist movement. A versatile artist, Pissarro embodied the role of insider, contributing to the establishment of Impressionism as a coherent avant-garde phenomenon while maintaining his artistic independence as he eschewed his peers’ choice of upper-class subject matter to depict scenes of the mundane. The Honest Eye reflects this dichotomy, while selections from Pissarro’s letters provide insights into his artistic process and worldview more broadly.

Co-organized with the Museum Barberini in Potsdam, Germany, The Honest Eye will feature landscapes, cityscapes, still lifes, and figure paintings, showcasing the breadth of Pissarro’s oeuvre and the various influences that shaped his practice as he responded to the social and political environment of the day.

City landscape of a bustling bridge over a body of water — Camille Pissarro, *Pont Boieldieu, Rouen, Rainy Weather (Le Pont Boieldieu à Rouen, temps mouillé),* 1896. Oil on canvas; 29 × 25 in. Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto. Art Gallery of Ontario / Gift of Reuben Wells Leonard Estate, 1937 / Bridgeman Images

A bustling bridge with people and carriages just as the sunrises in the sky — Camille Pissarro, *The Pont-Neuf, Afternoon, Sunlight (Le Pont-Neuf, après-midi, soleil),* 1901. Oil on canvas; 28 3/4 × 36 1/4 in. Philadelphia Museum of Art: Bequest of Charlotte Dorrance Wright, 1978. Image courtesy bpk / Philadelphia Museum of Art / Art Resource, NY

City square view of buildings, roads, people, and general hustle and bustle — Camille Pissarro, *Morning Sun in the Rue Saint-Honoré. Place du Théâtre Français (La Rue Saint-Honoré, matin, effet de soleil),* 1898. Oil on canvas; 25 7/8 × 21 1/4 in. Ordrupgaard, Charlottenlund. Image courtesy akg-images

View of the green garden and lush countryside — Camille Pissarro, *View from my Window, Éragny (Vue de ma fenêtre, Éragny),* 1886. Oil on canvas; 25 5/8 × 31 7/8 in. Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Oxford: Presented by Mrs Lucien Pissarro, 1950. Image courtesy akg-images

Young girl sitting down hands folded in lap wearing a straw hat — Camille Pissarro, *Young Peasant Girl Wearing a Straw Hat (Jeune paysanne au chapeau de paille)*, 1881. Oil on canvas; 28 7/8 × 23 7/16 in. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.: Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection, 1970.17.52. Image courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Self-portrait painting of an elderly Camille Pissarro with a bald head and long white beard — Camille Pissarro, *Self-Portrait (autoportrait),* 1873. Oil on canvas; 21 7/8 × 18 1/8 in. Musée d’Orsay: Donation Paul-Émile Pissarro, 1930. Image courtesy akg-images/Laurent Lecat

Wheat field blanketed with a light snow frost — Camille Pissarro, *Hoar-Frost at Ennery (Gelée blanche à Ennery),* 1873. Oil on canvas. 25 3/4 × 36 3/4 in. Musée d'Orsay: Legs Enriqueta Alsop au nom du Dr. Eduardo Mollard, 1972. Image courtesy akg-images / De Agostini Picture Lib. / G. Dagli Orti

Lush garden of trees and green behind a large white estate — Camille Pissarro, *The Garden of Les Mathurins, property of the Deraismes Sisters, Pontoise (Le Jardin des Mathurins, Pontoise, propriété des soeurs Deraismes),* 1876. Oil on canvas; 44 5/8 × 65 1/8 in. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri: Purchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust. Image courtesy akg-images / De Agostini Picture Lib. / J. E. Bulloz

Young girl making a fire in the hoar-frosted countryside — Camille Pissarro, *Hoar-Frost, Peasant Girl Making a Fire (Gelée blanche, jeune paysanne faisant du feu)*, 1888. Oil on canvas; 36 1/2 × 36 3/8 in. Hasso Plattner Collection at the Museum Barberini. Image courtesy akg-images/Laurent Lecat

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The Honest Eye: Camille Pissarro’s Impressionism is co-organized by the Denver Art Museum and the Museum Barberini, Potsdam, and curated by DAM’s Clarisse Fava-Piz, Associate Curator of European and American Art before 1900; Claire Durand-Ruel, independent art historian and co-author of the catalogue raisonné on Pissarro’s paintings; and Nerina Santorius, Curator at the Museum Barberini. The exhibition will be on view at the DAM from October 26, 2025, through February 8, 2026.

It is presented by Barbara Bridges with additional support from the Tom Taplin Jr. and Ted Taplin Endowment, Lori and Grady Durham, the Kristin and Charles Lohmiller Exhibitions Fund, Kathie and Keith Finger, the donors to the Annual Fund Leadership Campaign, and the residents who support the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD). Promotional support is provided by 5280 Magazine and CBS Colorado.