Pissarro and Raitman Art Galleries Artists at the Denver Art Museum January 17 2026, 0 Comments

By Kimberly Nicoletti

The Raitmans always like to ring in the new year by visiting a major art museum. It provides a reset, underscoring what they want to prioritize at the galleries and in life. It also reinvigorates their love for art.

This year, it was essential to visit the Denver Art Museum because it’s the only major stop in the nation for “The Honest Eye: Camille Pissarro’s Impressionism.” The retrospective displays about 100 works of Pissarro’s through Feb. 8.  It’s the first large-scale Pissarro retrospective in the U.S. in more than 40 years.

Though most people think of Monet when Impressionism comes to mind, Pissarro is considered the first Impressionist.

Original Camille Pissarro Portrait Painting at Denver Art Museum in Colorado

An iconic self-portrait of Camille Pissarro

Raised by Jewish merchants on the island of St. Thomas, Pissarro attended boarding school in a suburb of Paris at age 12. Upon returning to the island, he resisted following in his family’s footsteps in favor of pursuing an art career.

Original Camille Pissarro Garden Painting at Denver Art Museum in Colorado

Pissarro's "The Garden and Henhouse at Octave Mirbeau's Les Damps"

He was also a rebel in the sense that he preferred painting what he saw and experienced rather than being constrained by traditional academic training. He ultimately settled in France in 1855, and although he was an outsider — due to his Jewish and Danish-Caribbean roots, his interest in everyday subject matter and his anarchist politics and outlook on the world, particularly in regards to labor — he remained true to his own vision.

Camille Pissarro Fan Paintings at Denver Art Museum in Colorado

A collection of Camille Pissarro's fan paintings

Original Camille Pissarro Fan Sketch for Sale at Raitman Art Galleries

"La Cuille" - original sketch by Camille Pissaro, available at Raitman Art Galleries

Pissarro's rural scenes contrast what people typically associated with peasantry. Rather than depicting it as demeaning and backbreaking labor, he highlighted the ease of country living and the dignity and enjoyment of being out in the fields. He portrayed crowded markets with people jostling and bargaining to make a statement. Extended visits to the harbor city of Rouen, France, also informed his harmonious and lively paintings. Toward the end of his career, he turned an eye toward Parisian views, which finally provided him financial stability.
Camille Pissarro city paintings at Denver Art Museum in Colorado
Pissarro's city scenes, painted later in his life

Camille Pissarro sketches at Denver Art Museum in ColoradoA collection of Pissarro's sketches on display at the Denver Art Museum

Original Camille Pissarro painting for sale at Raitman Art Galleries

"Marche A Dieppe" - original sketch by Camille Pissaro, available at Raitman Art Galleries

The Raitmans have close connections to Pissarro’s work: At least a half-dozen of the works on display at the Denver Art Museum are on loan from one of their clients. Plus, the galleries have a few of the artists’, as well as his descendants’, paintings.

Camille Pissarro landscape painting at Denver Art Museum in Colorado

Pissarro's "Meadow at Eragny with Cows, Fog, Sunset"

The Denver Art Museum also exhibits a few other artists Raitman Art Galleries represent: Jared and Nicole Davis’ distinctive glass work and Sushe and Tracy Felix’s paintings are all on display now. The Davis's piece is the first ever made in their Fossil series and dates back to 2010. Tracy Felix's "Longs Peak and Flatirons" has become a fan-favorite on the top level of the museum, in the Western American Art Galleries. Sushe Felix's "Blue Moon," painted in 1999, was a wonderful surprise during the Raitmans last visit. The painting, an abstracted and geometric take on landscape painting, is a nod to the Transcendentalist painters that have been such a big influence on Sushe's work. Gregg Deal also has works in the museum's permanent collection.

Denver Art Museum featuring Original Glass Sculpture by Artist Jared and Nicole Davis

Part of the Denver Art Museum's Glass Collection, featuring works by Howard Ben Tre, Alex Gabriel Bernstein, Bertil Vallien, Jared and Nicole Davis, and several others

Original Glass Sculpture by Jared and Nicole Davis at Denver Art Museum

"Fossil" by Jared and Nicole Davis

The Raitmans still revel at seeing artists the galleries represent highlighted in a major museum. Brian Raitman calls it a dream come true. It is, in many ways, the culmination of years of hard work spent refining the galleries' collections. It is one thing for the Raitmans and the gallery sales consultants to tell you the work they show is amongst the best in the world. This tenet is proven firmly when the artist's work is shown in major institutions, where people are paying for the opportunity to view it on a daily basis and it is surrounded by, undoubtedly, the best art the world has ever seen.

Brian Raitman also appreciates visiting museums “just for fun,” as opposed to research — much like enjoying a stroll with people he loves.

“Many of the pieces, they’re like visiting old friends, particularly those in the Western American Art Galleries and the French Impressionist paintings. They’re still just hanging out there — that’s their room and their space, and I get to visit. It reminds me why I do this. I’m looking for lasting beauty in the art world,” he said. “Walking around an art collection provides that moment of discovery that you’re looking for in life in many facets.”

Original Painting by Artist Sushe Felix at Denver Art Museum

"Blue Moon" by Sushe Felix