Born 18 January 1870, in Paris; died 1934, in Toulon.

Painter, illustrator. History painting, portraits, genre scenes, landscapes.
Paul-Albert Laurens was the son of Jean-Paul Laurens. He studied under Cormon and Benjamin Constant at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. In 1898 he was appointed as art teacher at the prestigious École Polytechnique. He is best remembered for his portraits of Jacques Copeau and André Gide and for his fine illustrations of Daudet's works.

In 1891 he was awarded the second-place Grand Prix de Rome. The same year he made his début at the Salon des Artistes Français in Paris and gained an honourable mention. In 1893 he was awarded a third-place medal and a travel grant, in 1897 a first-class medal and in 1900 a gold medal at the Exposition Universelle in Paris. In 1910 he received the Légion d'Honneur and was awarded the Prix Henner. He also participated in the Salon de la Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Paris and in numerous exhibitions abroad, notably in Budapest and Munich.

Museum and Gallery Holdings

Bucharest (Muz. National de Arta al României): Bathers
Paris (MAM): Portrait of Jean-Paul Laurens; The Artist and his Familly; Portrait of André Gide
Toulouse: Autumn; Hymn to Ceres; The Holy Women