Eugène-Louis Boudin was born in the harbor community of Honfleur, France in 1824. He was the son of a harbor pilot. In 1835, the family moved to Le Havre, where the twelve year old Boudin was apprenticed to a printer who ran a stationary and frame shop. At twenty, Boudin co-owned an art supply store and drew in his spare time. Paintings by prominent artists were exhibited and sold in his store.
Many of the Barbizon painters had a strong influence on Boudin’s attitude toward painting and they encouraged the young Boudin to work from life. He sold his partnership in the store to buy out his military service and devote himself to painting fulltime.
In 1850, the town of Le Havre granted him a three-year scholarship to study in Paris. Boudin first exhibited at the 1859 Salon and was accepted every year from 1863 to 1870. He also exhibited at the 1863 Salon des Refusés.
After his return to Le Havre, Boudin spent many summers on the farm of Saint Siméon, near Honfleur. He traveled extensively in Normandy and Brittany, painting harbor and beach scenes. In the 1850s, Boudin met Claude Monet, a teenager at the time. Boudin did much to help Monet develop his ideas on painting.
Boudin participated in the first Impressionist show in 1874. In 1881, he received a Third Class Medal at the Paris Salon. He received a Gold Medal at the Exposition Universelle in 1889. Paul Durand Ruel bought many of Boudin’s paintings and held large exhibitions for him in the 1880’s and 1890’s.
Boudin primarily painted scenes of the sea and shore and was fascinated with the effects of light and weather. He worked almost exclusively from life. His paintings have a fresh, jewel-like quality that only comes from direct observation. His work was very popular during his lifetime, especially his beach scenes with crowds of well-dressed people.
Eugène-Louis Boudin was born in the harbor community of Honfleur, France in 1824. He was the son of a harbor pilot. In 1835, the family moved to Le Havre, where the twelve year old Boudin was apprenticed to a printer who ran a stationary and frame shop. At twenty, Boudin co-owned an art supply store and drew in his spare time. Paintings by prominent artists were exhibited and sold in his store. 
