Gifted in being allowed to live "the dreaming life" as he proclaimed, Octave Guillonnet proved to be an extraordinary talent. He entered the art studio of Lionel Royer in Paris at the young age of 13, won his first award at 15, and by the time he was 20, he earned the rank of Hors-Concours in the Salons.

With this designation, his paintings hung directly in exhibits without needing to be judged by committee before inclusion. He excelled through his broad interpretation of the Impressionist School in painting garden and beach scenes, most often featuring women, with illusion elements.
The son of a well-to-do couple, the Guillonnet family, he owned a summer residence near Monaco in Carras, and lived the rest of the year in Garches,...