Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Born into French nobility on 24 November 1864, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec seemed destined for a conventional aristocratic life until adolescent accidents broke both his legs and left him with a stunted body. He turned instead to Paris and its theatrical underbelly, immersing himself in the cabarets, brothels, and back rooms where dancers and prostitutes became his subjects and companions. His paintings, prints, and posters captured the decadent affairs of the late 19th century with a Post-Impressionist eye that grouped him loosely with Cézanne, van Gogh, Gauguin, and Seurat. He died on 9 September 1901, decades before one of his early works - La Blanchisseuse, a portrait of a young laundress - would sell at Christie's in 2005 for $22.4 million, a record for his name at auction.