ABSTRACT
During the first half of the Second Empire, Henri Fantin-Latour and Alphonse Legros sowed the seeds for the Societe in Paris. In the fall of 1858, shortly after James McNeill Whistler's arrival in Paris, the Societe des trois officially came together. The Societe des trois was a small group that was essential to its members, but its existence was only required for a finite period. Maintaining connections in the Parisian artistic world was essential for Legros in order for him to build on the translocal traction he developed during his time as part of the Societe. The Societe des trois brings to light many expansive concerns for artists in the nineteenth century. Essential translocal connections continued to bind them together as well, including Manet who remained a companion of Fantin's and visited Legros in London.
