Ambroise Vollard

This portrait of Ambroise Vollard is by the great French Impressionist Pierre-August Renoir. The transfer lithograph was drawn in 1904 and printed in 1919. Active as a dealer, publisher, and collector, Vollard was at the very center of the art world. He dealt in the works of Renoir as well as artists ranging from Paul Cézanne and Vincent van Gogh to Georges Rouault and Pablo Picasso. Vollard wrote biographies of several artists including Renoir. When Renoir died in 1919, Vollard published a portfolio of twelve of his lithographs, including the portrait, in an edition of 1000 impressions.