Boulevard Edgar-Quinet, Paris, 1907 (oil paint on board)

The chief artists associated with Fauvism between 1904 and 1908 were Henri Matisse (1869-1954), Andre Derain (1880-1954) and Maurice de Vlaminck (1876-1968). Their work was characterised by its use of pure, unnaturalistic colour and deliberately crude unrefined painting techniques. By 1907 the Fauves had established their reputation as the leaders of the Parisian avant garde, at the annual exhibitions of the Salon d'Automne and the Salon des Independants. The fact that Paris provided a public platform to display potentially shocking images was liberating for Fergusson's own work.