N BEHALF of the Governor and People of the United States Virgin Islands, I am pleased to welcome you to this Camille Pissarro web site. I invite you to learn about one of this American Territory’s most influential sons and the unprecedented exhibit of his early artwork that will open in December on the island of St. Thomas, his birthplace.

Camille Pissarro, a founder of the French Impressionist school of painting, was born in 1830 in what was then the Danish West Indies. His family sent him to France for his secondary education, but he returned home twice as a young man before settling permanently in Paris in 1855.

For a century and a half, it was assumed that Pissarro did no significant painting or drawing in his homeland. The show about to open, "Camille Pissarro in the Caribbean, 1850-1855: Drawings from the Collection at Olana," is splendid evidence to the contrary. Dozens of his works on paper are now revealed to have been obscured for decades in a classic case of mistaken identity. These drawings depicting the Caribbean – some identifiably St. Thomas – go on exhibit publicly for the first time in this show, produced as part of the Bicentennial observance of the Hebrew Congregation of St. Thomas.

The exhibit will hang in Lilienfeld House, the social hall of the historic St. Thomas synagogue, from December 16, 1996, through March 14, 1997. Hours are weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays from 12:30 to 4 p.m. Admission for non-residents is $3 for adults and $1 for children (through age 13). To obtain more information, telephone (340)777-1186.

Complementing the opening of the exhibit, the territory’s Public Broadcast Service station, WTJX-TV (Channel 12), will air a locally produced, 2 1/2-hour TV documentary, "The Life and Work of Camille Pissarro." Several years in the making, it incorporates extensive research and interviews with key Pissarro scholars and family members also involved in the mounting of the art exhibit. The TV special will begin on Sunday, December 9, starting at 8, and conclude on Monday, December 9, starting at 9 p.m. both nights. It will be repeated later at dates to be announced.

The Camille Pissarro exhibit is the first showing of the artist’s work in his homeland. It is my pleasure to serve as honorary chair of this very special event for the people of the Virgin Islands and for the world.

   Mrs. Barbara Schneider
   First Lady of the Virgin Islands of the United States