Off The Breton Coast, oil on canvas, 28"x39", 34"x45"(framed), inscribed verso, titled “Bretonische Kuste,” and dated 1870.

Gallard-Lepinay was born in 1842 in Aulnay, Charante-Maritime. Despite his relatively short life, he established himself as an important marine artist and was awarded the honorific title of Peintre de la Marine in 1882 by the French Minister of Defense. The artist first exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1864, and his early paintings were primarily of the coasts of Normandy and Brittany. The paintings which proved most successful , however, were his luminous scenes of Venice. He is also known for his intricate compositions of historical naval battles. Gallard-Lepinay’s work can be found in the Amsterdam Museum, the Musée de Cherbourg, and the Musée des beaux-arts de Quimper.