At fifteen Paul-Émile went to the academy in Gisors, but left again after a few months to accompany his father on a painting tour of Le Havre, Dieppe and Rouen.

Paul-Émile frequently visited Giverny, where Monet taught him painting and gardening, encouraging him to follow in his father's footsteps: "Work!

Encouraged by British interest and the sale of his works, he left his position in the lace factory with the intention of devoting himself to painting.

His brother arranged exhibitions for him in the New English Art Club (NEAC), the Baillie Gallery and at the Allied Artists Association in London.

Paul-Émile met Cézanne several times in Paris, and his influence became evident in Pissarro's green-gold classical compositions from around 1918 onward.

[2] In 1924 he bought a house in Lyons-la-Forêt,[2] a small village near Éragny, whose garden (designed by Monet[6]) and surroundings offered him subjects for paintings, in particular the pastures, meadows and hills through which the river Epte peacefully flows.

[3] In 1930, on the recommendation of Raoul Dufy,[2] he travelled for the first time in the Suisse Normande where the river Orne, runs through the valley between Clécy and Le Vey.

The blue hills, green meadows and peaceful waters of the river provided Pissarro with a new environment for his artistic work.

[3] He set up a studio in a houseboat – a converted rowing boat in his garden on the banks for the Orne[7] – in which he could concentrate on his favourite subject, reflections in still waters.