He participated in many Parisian Salons. He was considered an expert in subjects concerned with dreams. He published many studies which had dreams and the features of psychiatric patients as their topic.

In 1935-1936 he painted a large wall painting entitled Subjects Found in Dreams, which decorated the main room of the St. Anne’ s psychiatric clinic, where he worked. He also illustrated many collections of poetry.

His involvement with pathological illnesses led him more easily to surrealism which felt that the perception of patients with psychiatric diseases revealed hidden sides of human nature.

He participated in the “Marseilles Game” with the surrealist group in 1940. He also participated in the International Surrealist Exhibition in 1947. The first retrospective of his work was held in 2002 at the foundation where he worked.

He became involved with painting at the urging of Bourdelle. He commenced his studies at the Ecole Nationale des Arts Cecoratifs in his birthplace, studies that were interrupted by this military service for the duration of World War I and which were then continued in 1919. In 1936 he was appointed professor at the Ecole des Artes Decoratifs. From 1945 on he lived in town of Sete in the south of France. He painted harbors, folk festivals, and landscapes from the south of France. In 1949 he was proclaimed official painter to the French Navy.

His exhibition activity began in 1922 and from that time on he regularly exhibited at the Salon des Independants, the Salon d’Automne and the Salon des Artistes du Epoque, with the group of Gromaire-Lipschitz. He also participated in many foreign exhibitions. In 1950 French museums dedicated a touring exhibition to him. He received many honorary distinctions for his work.

He had much in common with Gromaire and other French artists whose work is characterized by a particularly powerful dramatic flare and intensity, which imbue the work with an expressionistic character.

He was also involved with se design, the decoration of public buildings, book illustration and lithography. He was an important art collector and his collection was bequeathed to the French state.

He interrupted his artistic studies to do his military service in World War I and resumed them up again in 1920. At the same time, he worked as a goldsmith and painter of window glass. He won the Prize of Paris and settled in the capital where he dedicated himself exclusively to painting and engraving. In 1924 he was awarded the Prize of Rome for his engraving, and settled there for a long period of time where he learned fresco technique. During that same time the won a bronze medal at the Salon des Artistes Francais. Returning to Paris, Durain lent him his studio and he became friends with Braque. His first solo exhibition was held in Paris in 1939. This was followed by others, form 1943 to 1973, in Paris and Luxembourg, as well as Nantes, Buenos Aires and Tokyo. Just before his death the first retrospective of his work was held at the La Havre Museum under the title 35 Years of Painting. The most important exhibitions were organized after his death and were held in 1976 at the Musee d’ Etat de Luxembourg and in 1978 at the Musee d’ art moderne de la ville de Paris.

He was occupied with landscape, still life an the nude. After World War II he went on to abstraction.

He studied architecture at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in both Lyon and Paris, while at the same time involving himself with painting. From 1935 to 1940 he participated in the Salon des Independants. His exhibition activity was divided between Paris and Lyon.

He was mainly occupied with stage design. He drew his subjects from daily life. His work was expressionistic in character.