Le Promenade

Biography of Pierre Bittar ( b.1934, French )

Born on February 13, 1934, Pierre Bittar was the son of a musician and a mother descended from the House of Savoie. His artistic talent was apparent from a young age, and his parents encouraged his gift for drawing and coloring beginning in 1939. From 1940 to 1952, he devoted all his leisure time to painting and studying the techniques of the Great Masters, such as Rembrandt and the Impressionists—particularly Monet—during long hours in museums. His studies were interrupted in 1953 by his father’s death, which led him to take a job with the multinational data processing company NCR while simultaneously taking evening painting classes at the Academie Leonard de Vinci. He finished his studies there in 1956 and began practicing plein-air painting with his professor and creating portraits of himself and his family.

Bittar’s professional artistic career began with an exhibition at the Potterat Gallery in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1963. A decade later, he was awarded a medal at the Salon du Chesany, France (1973), and exhibited at the Cultural Center of Parly 2 in Le Chesany the following year. His accolades grew significantly in 1975 and 1976, earning the First Prize and Medal of the city of Nice and a Gold Medal at the Salon du Chesany. In 1976, he also debuted at the prestigious Salon des Artistes Francais at the Grand Palais in Paris, where all three of his submitted paintings were accepted; he was awarded the Silver Medal and the Paul Liot Prize. The following year, he was awarded the first Grand Prix of Visitors to the Salon du Chesnay, and the city acquired one of his paintings.

After being awarded the permanent Gold Medal at the 1979 Salon des Artistes Francais, Bittar was sought out by American and British galleries and sold nearly all of his existing work. This success enabled him to leave his job at NCR in 1980 to become a full-time artist, marking the beginning of a period of intense international activity. He exhibited at the Phillips Galleries in Palm Beach, Florida, that same year and was awarded the International Albrecht Durer Prize in 1981. Throughout the 1980s, he held numerous exhibitions across France and the United States, including shows in Dallas, Texas; Carmel, California; and Boston, Massachusetts, and was a guest of honor at several salons. A book on his work was published in 1986.

In 1992, Bittar established his own gallery in Michigan, where he painted commissions, portraits, and the landscapes of Northern Michigan. He continued to travel to France and Italy to paint and celebrated his gallery’s 15th anniversary in 2007. From the year 2000 to the present, his work has been displayed at his own gallery.

View All Works