His predecessor , terry lanni , used to have a renoir from the company 's art collection hanging over his desk , but with las vegas in the middle of a new age of austerity , it is gone .
He was devoted to the french impressionists and post-impressionists , and masterpieces by manet , renoir , degas , gauguin and van gogh formed the core of his renowned art collection .
For example , prices for european impressionists , such as monet and renoir , surged almost fivefold in the two years before lehman collapsed ( just as they did in 1989 before the japanese stock market peaked ) but lost almost all those gains shortly afterwards .
When renoir was afflicted by arthritis , matisse began to visit him daily , taking him food , brushes , paints , but always trying to persuade the master that he was working too hard and needed to rest a little .