Henry Lerolle (1848-1929) was a French painter, art collector, and patron, born in Paris. He studied at the Académie Suisse under Louis Lamothe and began exhibiting at the Paris Salon in 1868, continuing regularly throughout the 1870s and 1880s. Lerolle is perhaps best known for his large-scale mural commissions at the Hôtel de Ville in Paris.

Beyond his own artistic practice, Lerolle played an important role within the cultural life of his time. He was a close friend and collector of artists including Edgar Degas, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Maurice Denis, and Édouard Vuillard. The Lerolle household became a vibrant gathering place for artists and musicians alike, welcoming figures such as Vincent d’Indy and Claude Debussy. Renoir painted portraits of Lerolle and his daughters, while Debussy dedicated several piano works to Lerolle’s daughter, Yvonne, who was also a close friend of Julie Manet, the daughter of painter Berthe Morisot.

Lerolle’s paintings are held in major public collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Musée d’Orsay, and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.