Collection: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec   1864 - 1901 

Toulouse Lautrec (1864-1901) was one of the most colourful artists of the latter part of the 19th Century. The son of an outrageously eccentric French nobleman, he grew up with a love of sport, but as a result of two falls when he was in his early teens, the bones in his legs atrophied and he became permanently stunted, his large head making him appear grotesquely misproportioned.

He showed an early talent for drawing and in 1882 he became a pupil of Bonnat. At the age of 21, he was given an allowance and set up in a studio of his own at Montmartre. He also began to draw for illustrated journals. He met Van Gogh and came into contact with Impressionist and Post-Impressionist painters. In the late 80s he began to illustrate the low life of Paris; circuses and brothels being among his favourite subjects.