Paul de Plument de Bailhac

In 1904, French painter Paul Plument de Bailhac was the founder of the Salon de l’École Française of the Society of French Artists. After 1904 the exhibition of the Salon de l’École Française was hosted every year for young, unknown artists at the Grand Palais and the Palais de Tokyo in Paris. Plument de Bailhac was president of the society until his death in 1951. He studied at the l’Ecole nationale et spéciale des Beaux Arts since 1884.

The artist submitted his work “Swimming and Diving after Deirhé” to the Olympic art competitions. Deirhé was a French swimming pioneer who introduced armless swimming. After the turn of the century, there were frequent competitions in this “style”.