Paul (Eugéne-Henri) Gauguin was born on June 7, 1848 in Paris, but was raised in Lima, Peru by his French Journalist father and Peruvian mother. Gauguin is considered one of the leading painters of the Postimpressionist period.

Gauguin began his career as a stockbroker in Paris in 1872. He attended the Impressionist's first exhibition in 1874, and was captivated by the impressionist style. He purchased works by Monet, Pissarro, Renoir and others. His exposure to the Impressionists reinforced his desire to become a painter.

In 1883 the bank that employed Gauguin experienced financial trouble, and he found himself free to paint full-time. Much of his work during this period was influenced by the Impressionists, especially Pissarro. In 1884 Gauguin went to paint at the artists haven of Pont-Aven. Influenced during this period by van Gogh, Seurat, and Degas, he began to adopt his own independent style.

In 1891 Gauguin abandoned his family and career to find an idyllic life in Islands of the South Pacific. He lived in Tahiti from 1891 to 1893, and again from 1895 until his death. In Tahiti his painting style evolved to reflect the Pacific Islands' primitive forms and brilliant colors. His striking images of Polynesian women rank among the most beautiful paintings of the modern age. In 1904, Gauguin, dissipated by drug-addiction, died of syphilis.

	Femmes de Tahiti [Sur la plage] (Tahitian Women [On the Beach]) 1891; Oil on canvas; Musee d'Orsay, Paris
	Spirit of the Dead Watching 1892; Oil on burlap mounted on canvas; Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY
	Arearea (Joyousness) 1892; Musée d'Orsay, Paris
	Te Avae No Maria 1899
	Portrait of the Artist with the Idol 1893; Oil on canvas; McNay Art Institute, San Antonio, TX
	Le Christ jaune (The Yellow Christ) 1889; Oil on canvas; Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY
	Portrait de l'artiste (Self-portrait) 1893-1894; Oil on canvas; Musee d'Orsay, Paris

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