Dimitrie Berea (b. 1908, Bacău, Romania – d. 1975, Paris, France) was a Romanian artist
who emigrated to France in 1947, known for his portraiture. He studied at the Academy
of Architecture in Bucharest and later at the Royal Academy of Fine Art in Rome. In Paris,
he became acquainted with famous Post-Impressionist painters such as Pierre Bonnard
and Édouard Vuillard, as well as Fauvist artists Henri Matisse and Kees Van Dongen.

Berea’s works were heavily influenced by Bonnard’s decorative style and vibrant,
luminous colours. He painted interiors, still life, and portraits that can be seen as
documenting fragments of a life lived amongst the upper class across the Western
hemisphere. Berea painted the portraits of Hollywood celebrities and European royal
families.

His works have been exhibited in France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the US. A major
retrospective took place at the Villefranche Museum in France in 1991.

Berea’s works are part of important public collections in London, Paris, New York, Venice,
Rome, Tel Aviv, Madrid. Private collections include those of Sir Winston Churchill, The Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Sir Lawrence Olivier, Bette Davis, Henry Ford II, Katherine Hepburn, Conrad Hilton, His Majesty King Carl of Denmark, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of England and Salvador Dalí.