A specialist in floral still lives, especially informal arrangements, Raoul M. De Longpre was born in Lyons, Paris into an aristocratic, albeit poor, family that were "fleuristes", persons associated with flower painting whose center was Lyons. His father, Jean Antoine, decorated fans and exhibited floral still lifes in Paris and Lyons.

He began drawing at a young age. By the time he was twelve he was earning a living painting flowers on fans for a firm in Paris. He worked and studied with his brother, Paul De Longpre, who became a major figure in flower painting and settled in California.

At age 21, Raoul De Longpre began exhibiting in the Paris Salon. Whether or not he traveled to America is unknown, but his painting circul...