Odette Pauvert

Born in Paris on 18 November 1903, Odette-Marie Pauvert was the daughter of the miniature painter Henri Pauvert (1854–1951) and his wife the painter Louise née Cochet (1870–1950). Her sister Marguerite-Louise (1902–83) was also a painter.^[2] Initially instructed by her mother, Pauvert studied from 1921 at the École des Beaux-Art under Ferdinand Hubert and Émile Renard [fr].^[2][4]

Pauvert's paintings earned her a number of early awards. In 1922, she received the Jauvin d’Attainville prize for Solitude and in 1923 she won the silver medal at the Salon.^[1][4] In 1925, she became the first woman painter to be awarded the Grand Prix de Rome for L'egende de Saint Ronan.^[5][6][7] As a result, she stayed at the Villa Médicis in Rome from 1926 to 1929^[8] where she created numerous works. In 1927, she painted a group portrait titled Promotion 1926 depicting herself together with the musician Louis Fourestier, the sculptor Évariste Jonchère and the architect Alfred Audoui.^[4]

After returning to France, she created a number of religious works including a fresco La Mère et l'enfant (1933) for the elementary school on rue Jomard in Paris after winning a competition. She went on to decorate several pavilions for the 1937 French Art Exposition.^[4]

Odette Pauvert died in Paris on 26 March 1966.^[2] A retrospective of her work was held in 1986 at the Musée Sainte-Croix in Poitiers.^[1]