Pierre-Auguste Renoir at the Christie's

Christie’s is a name and place that speaks of extraordinary art, unparalleled service, expertise and global reach.

Founded in 1766 by James Christie, Christie's has since conducted the greatest and most celebrated auctions through the centuries providing a popular showcase for the unique and the beautiful.

William John Leech (1881-1968) | Impressionist painter

William John Leech was an Irish painter🎨, well known for his illustrations of Concarneau harbour. The works of Leech feature coastal and harbour scenes, landscapes, interiors, still life and portraits.

He went to school at St Columba's College, Dublin in Rathfarnham, later studying at the Metropolitan School.

Émile Munier (1840-1895) | Academic painter

Émile Munier was born in Paris on June 2, 1840 and lived with his family at 66 rue des Fossés, St Marcel.

His father, Pierre François Munier, was an upholstery artist at the Manufacture Nationale des Gobelins and his mother, Marie Louise Carpentier, was a polisher in a cashmere cloth mill.

Emile, and his older brother François Joseph (born in 1839), went to the local communal school.

By the time their younger brother was born the family’s fortune had improved and Florimond Louis, who was born on September 11, 1851, was enrolled in a boarding school.

All three brothers displayed an early gift for drawing and each had produced a pastel self-portrait between the ages of 13 and 14 - Emile’s is dated 1854.

Antonio Puccinelli | Macchiaioli painter

Antonio Puccinelli (19 March 1822, Castelfranco di Sotto - 22 July 1897, Florence) was an Italian painter; one of the group known as the "Macchiaioli".

He was the son of a tailor and was planning to follow his father in that trade, but a group of local citizens noticed his talent for art.

Thanks to a scholarship, he was able to attend the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze, where he studied with Giuseppe Bezzuoli.

Joaquín Allustante (1853-1935) | Genre painter

Joaquín Pallarés Allustante was a Spanish painter🎨 of portraits, genre, religious compositions, murals and decorative arts.

He was initially trained at the Escuelas de Bellas Artes de Zaragoza under the tutelage of Marco and Antonio José Palao and at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Saint-Ferdinand (Madrid) where he was a pupil of Vincent Palmaroli and Paul Gonzalvo.

He furthered his training in Paris and remained in the French capital until 1881, when he moved to Rome.

Joaquín Agrasot (Spanish, 1836-1919)

Joaquín Agrasot y Juan was a Spanish painter🎨 of the Realistic style who produced many works in the Costumbrismo genre.

Agrasot was born in Orihuela. His studies began in his home town and, in 1856, he received a fellowship from the "Diputación Provincial de Alicante", the local government.

He then enrolled at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Carlos de Valencia, where he studied with the art restorer Francisco Martínez Yago, the father of Salvador Martínez Cubells.

John Graham-Gilbert | Portrait painter

John Graham-Gilbert (1794-1866) was a Scottish portrait painter and art collector.

Graham-Gilbert was born in Glasgow as John Graham, the son of a West India merchant and was at first trained in his father's counting-house, but preferred art and travelled to London in 1818 where he was admitted into the Royal Academy.