Paul Cesar Helleu (1859 – 1927) was a French oil painter, pastel artist, drypoint etcher, and designer, best known for his numerous portraits of beautiful society women of the Belle Epoque. He also conceived the ceiling mural of night sky constellations for Grand Central Terminal in New York City. He was also the father of Jean Helleu and the grandfather of Jacques Helleu, both artistic directors for Parfums Chanel.

Helleu was commissioned in 1884 to paint a portrait of a young woman named Alice Guérin (1870–1933). They fell in love, and married on 28 July 1886. Throughout their lives together, she was his favourite model. Charming, refined and graceful, she helped introduce them to the aristocratic circles of Paris, where they became popular fixtures.

On his second trip to the United States in 1912, Helleu was awarded the commission to design was the ceiling decoration in New York City’s Grand Central Terminal. He decided on a mural of a blue-green night sky covered by the starry signs of the zodiac that cross the Milky Way. Although the astrological design was widely admired, the ceiling was covered in the 1930s. It was completely restored in 1998.

While planning for a new exhibition with Jean-Louis Forain, he died in 1927 at age 67 of peritonitis following surgery in Paris. Among many of his friends was Coco Chanel, who chose beige as her signature colour upon on his advice—the colour of the sand on the beach of Biarritz in early morning. Both his son Jean Helleu and his grandson Jacques Helleu became artistic directors for Parfums Chanel.

Here are some of his many paintings he made in Deauville, Normandy.

Jean Dufy, a French painter, was born in Le Havre and painted in the Fauvism, Impressionism, Modernism, and Cubism styles/movements. His older brother, Raoul Dufy, was also an artist and became Jean’s mentor.

He painted mostly in the Paris region, but did manage a few in Deauville. Here they are.

Louis Valtat (1869 – 1952) was a French painter and printmaker associated with the Fauves (“the wild beasts”, so named for their wild use of color), who first exhibited together in 1905 at the Salon d’Automne. He is noted as a key figure in the stylistic transition in painting from Monet to Matisse.

He became good friends with Auguste Renoir (who painted his portrait seen in this page at the top). Here is he one painting of his we found he made in Deauville (Normandy).

Felix Edouard Vallotton was a Swiss and French painter and printmaker associated with the group of artists known as Les Nabis. He was an important figure in the development of the modern woodcut. He painted portraits, landscapes, nudes, still lifes, and other subjects in an unemotional, realistic style.

Here are his works for Deauville.

Fernand-Fortune Truffault was a French painter. He was born in Trouville-sur-Mer. He studied art in Rouen, but not much is known about this artist.

Here are his artworks he made in Deauville.

Alfred Emile Leopold Stevens was a Belgian painter, known for his paintings of elegant modern women.We found only one of his paintings dealing with Deauville.

Henri Lebasque was a French post-impressionist painter who painted throughout France. He worked on the decorations at the theatre of the Champs-Elysées and of the Transatlantique sealiner. He was friends with other artists like Raoul Dufy, Louis Valtat, and Henri Manguin.

Here are the two paintings of his we found dealing with Deauville.

Raoul Dufy (1877 – 1953) was a French painter in the Fauvism, Impressionism, Modernism and Cubism movements. He was born in Le Havre where he studied arts in the local school. He (and his younger brother Jean Dufy) both painted a lot in Normandy. He went to school in Le Havre and there became a longlife friend of fellow artist Othon Friesz.

Here are his many paintings he made of Deauville.

Jean Desire Gustave Courbet (1819 – 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and the Romanticism of the previous generation of visual artists. Courbet, a socialist, was active in the political developments of France.

He was imprisoned for six months in 1871 for his involvement with the Paris Commune, and lived in exile in Switzerland from 1873 until his death.

Here are his works for Deauville.

Pierre Chapuis was a French painter who was also known for his theatre decors and his water paintings of Deauville and Trouville. Not much else is known about this artist.

Here are his works for Deauville.

Eugene Boudin is a real Normandy based artist, born and died in Normandy. He was an Impressionist painter and a close friend of Claude Monet. He was the son of a harbour pilot who later went on and set up a picture framing and stationery shop. His son took to the business and later set up his own shop, putting him in contact with many artists. At the age of 22 he started painting.

Here are the many paintings he made in Deauville.

Frank Boggs was an American (and later French) painter (born in the USA, died in France). He studied art in Paris, and travelled between France (Normandy), The Netherlands, Italy and Belgium. He naturelized to French citizenship. He is buried next to his artist son in Paris.

Here is the one painting we found of his of Deauville.

Georges Binet was born 1865 in Le Havre (and died 1949 in Toulon). He is a French painter known mostly for his Normandy paintings of daily life, including beaches and river scenes.

Here is the one painting of his we found he made in Deauville, Normandy.

Transport Getting There Train. There is a train link between Paris and the shared railway station of Trouville-sur-Mer and Deauville. There are several daily direct (and ones where you need to change) trains. Fastest time is 2 hours. Ferry: Closest ferry harbours from the UK are Ouistreham (Caen) and Le Havre. There is an irregular […]

Deauville in Normandy is often considered the 21st district of Paris due to the large number of Parisians who have their weekend home there. Driving through any town in Normandy compared to driving through Deauville is the difference between day and night; average income places versus rich incomes, and it shows. Deauville is one of the […]