Impressionistic scene of ladies seated at a garden restaurant, oil on canvas, signed lower left. Duane Alt was born in Nebraska in 1935, and raised in Southern California. During his high school years, he worked with the scenery painters at the Hollywood film studios. As a teenager, he took formal art training at the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles, and in the 1960s he studied art at the Sorbonne and the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. It was there that the heritage of the Impressionists captured his heart and influenced his personal style.Alt furthered his studies in Germany and Italy; however, it was France, its villages of the Barbizon, the hills of Provence and the Mediterranean which chiefly influenced his work. The dazzling sunshine, light fields of flowers and lush vegetation were his inspiration. .Although many illustrious artists have had their impact on Alt's career, his paintings are derivative of none of them. He has the distinction of being the first American artist to be invited to participate in "Le Salon 93" Sociéty des Artistes Francais Grand Palais des Champs-Elysées-Paris thereby shattering a tradition excluding non-French participation which had held since Louis XIV.Overall size: 24 1/2 x 30 1/2 in.Sight size: 17 1/2 x 23 1/2 in.