Gen Paul

Eugene Paul, known as Gen Paul, was born in 1895 and raised in the bohemian atmosphere of Montmartre. In his life he came to know a great many of the artists, from the anonymous to the world famous, who established themselves in the neighborhood. A self-taught artist, Gen Paul began expressing himself in drawings and paintings as a child, his earliest works show a remarkable talent. He was apprenticed to a wallpaper hanger. until his life was interrupted by war. He was wounded twice in World War One, the second time he lost one of his legs. During his recovery he turned to painting, which became his passion and his livelihood for almost 60 years. Gen Paul exhibited at the Salon d’Automne and the Salon des Independants beginning in 1920. In 1928 Gen Paul exhibited fifty paintings at Galerie Bing with Picasso, Rouault, and Soutine. He participated in collective exhibitions in London and Anvers. In 1937 he painted a large fresco for the Pavillon de Vins de France at l’Exposition Internationale de Paris. A restrospective was held at Galerie Drouant-David in 1952 and his works were shown several times at Galerie Ferrero in Geneva, Switzerland.