Biography and current catalogue for

Auguste Delacroix (1809-1868) 

Born at Boulogne-sur-Mer on 27th November 1809, Auguste Delacroix painted beach, fishing and marine genre paintings of Brittany and Normandy, mainly in oils, although some of his watercolours and etchings have been recorded. Following several visits to North Africa, including Algeria and Morocco, he painted a series of Orientalist genre pictures, often of Arab children on the shore. It is hard to tell whether our painting depicts a fisher girl or boy. An arab child? Or French? The cottage and chalk cliffs could easily be in Normandy. Delacroix exhibited at the Paris Salon from 1835 until 1865, being awarded a 3rd Class medal in 1839, 2nd Class in 1841 and 1st Class in 1846. He spent some time in Italy around 1865, when he suffered a stroke, losing the use of his right hand. He started painting left handed, with some success. He died in his home town of Boulogne, on 13th November 1868, aged 59. Examples of his work are held in museums at Calais, Cologne, La Rochelle, Pontoise and Rheims.