ANDRÉ BOURRIÉ

André Bourrié was born in Montpellier, France in 1936. After his parent’s death when he was eight, he was sent to a small orphanage in Paris where he had the opportunity to practice drawing. He eventually earned a degree as a ceramist. This trade allowed him to express more of his creative talents, to have conversations about color and art, to confront new ideas and styles, and left him enough time to concentrate on his paintings.

Throughout this time, his desire to fully dedicate his life to painting was very strong. Following the success of his first solo paintings exhibition in 1966 at the age of 30, he was able to leave his vocation as a molder and retired in 1979 to become a full time artist.

Bourrié is best known for his impressionist seascapes and landscapes of France. His work can be found in private and public collections in the United States, Europe and Japan. He is a member of the Salon d’Automne and the Salon des artistes Français as well as the Official Painter of the French Navy. In 1996 Bourrié was named an Official Artist of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games and commissioned to paint a work of Savannah, Georgia. His painting Passage à Savannah became the Official Poster of the Games.