Paul Émile Chabas

Born in Nantes, Chabas trained under renowned painters William-Adolphe Bouguereau and Tony Robert-Fleury, thoroughly learning the foundations of academic painting.¹

In the 1890s, he illustrated books for authors like Paul Bourget and Alfred de Musset, working as an illustrator in addition to his career as a painter.¹

In 1899, his work 'Joyeux Ébats' won the Prix National at the Paris Salon. He secured his status as a leading painter by winning a gold medal at the Exposition Universelle the following year.¹

Chabas set a price of $10,000 for 'September Morn,' thinking no one would pay it, but Leon Mantashev, son of an oil magnate, bought it, selling for a high price against the artist's expectations.¹

His 1912 masterpiece 'September Morn' became a scandal in the US the following year when it was protested as immoral, which ironically caused the painting's fame to skyrocket.¹

Deeply hurt by the immorality charges against 'September Morn,' Chabas briefly sought anonymity in the South of France. He cherished the painting as it was his wife's favorite.¹

While reproductions of 'September Morn' sold worldwide and profited many, Chabas himself received no money, later remarking that those who profited didn't even send him a box of cigars.¹

He became a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1921 and served as president of the Société des Artistes Français for ten years starting in 1925, playing a leading role in the French art world.¹

When he died in Paris in 1937, the only painting in his room was a copy of 'September Morn' he had painted from memory, a masterpiece in which he felt he had put all his knowledge of painting.¹