In 1877 Paris, a struggling artist by the name of Camille Pissarro was so desperate to create interest in his paintings that he decided to raffle one. He was part of an emerging school of artists known as the Impressionists who were getting a hard time from the critics.
One described them as “six madmen and a mad woman” and their works were routinely rejected for inclusion in the most important exhibitions.
The general opinion of their work was so low that you could pick up a painting by Claude Monet for as little as 35 francs and Pissarro’s paintings were even cheaper at seven or ten francs apiece.
Then Pissarro held his raffle but it did not solve the problem. A little girl was the winner and unfortunately, she shared the opinion of the art critics and rejected the painting and asked for a cream bun instead.
It is not known whether she ever lived to realise her mistake or, indeed, whether the Parisian art critics ever regretted pouring scorn on the Impressionists. But the Impressionist painters eventually became admired as among the greatest artists in all history and today their works fetch prices that match their reputation.
For instance, a Pissarro painting titled “Boulevard Montmartre, Spring Morning” sold at auction for US$32 million in 2014. Works of other Impressionists can fetch far more. Four years later a Monet titled “Meules” (Haystacks) went for US$110.7 million.
It just goes to show that there is a lot of truth in the old saying, first impressions are not always best. Look Back: How to talk about the past in English B1-C1