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Claude Monet Autograph Letter Signed

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:NA Estimated At:15,000.00 - 20,000.00 USD
Claude Monet Autograph Letter Signed

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Auction Date:2020 Nov 11 @ 18:00 (UTC-5 : EST/CDT)
Location:15th Floor WeWork, Boston, Massachusetts, 02108, United States
ALS - Autograph Letter Signed
ANS - Autograph Note Signed
AQS - Autograph Quotation Signed
AMQS - Autograph Musical Quotation Signed
DS - Document Signed
FDC - First Day Cover
Inscribed - “Personalized”
ISP - Inscribed Signed Photograph
LS - Letter Signed
SP - Signed Photograph
TLS - Typed Letter Signed
ALS in French, signed “Claude,” eight pages on two sets of adjoining sheets, 5 x 8, Savoy Hotel letterhead, February 26, 1900. A long letter to his wife about his life and work in London. He gives news of the health of their son Michel, and hopes that his wife has recovered from the fatigue of her trip to Paris. In part (translated): "Rest assured, you don't have to be jealous and don't see why you have the idea that Clemenceau could drag me into bad company. He and Geffroy arrived delighted to see me, and naturally very excited about what I'm doing. The time to get dressed went to this dinner, a very chic dinner, it wasn't at Mrs. Asquith's, but at this lady whom Clemenceau had introduced us to and whom we met again at Sargent's…There were many politicians, including one of the present ministers, and I assure you that it was interesting Clemenceau having his frank conversation with them. There was of course Mr. and Mrs. Asquith (Margot), an extraordinary man, who is going to send me the authorization to paint in the Tower of London. Sargent had been invited, but could not come, or did not want to because of Clemenceau, it seems, because in the past he wanted to do his portrait and missed it completely…I'm taking advantage of the very thick fog that keeps me from working to write to you a little longer. My friends are coming to see me…They are going to go to the museums…This morning at dawn there was an extraordinary fog, completely yellow. I made an impression of it, I think, it's always beautiful, but it's also so changeable that I had to start a lot of paintings of the Waterloo Bridge and the Parliament. I also took back several paintings from the first trip, some not so good ones. It's also here that I'm working the most so far, going to the hospital only at 4pm. Alas the fog won't lift and I'm afraid I'll lose my morning…But there he is, showing his face the sun." In fine condition.

During the years between 1899 and 1905, Monet travelled to London to capture its sights from the fifth-floor balcony of the Savoy Hotel. He became captivated by the London fog, and from his bedroom he executed a series of paintings of Parliament and the bridges of Waterloo and Charing Cross. In the letter, Monet discusses his friend Georges Clemenceau, fellow painter John Singer Sargent and Gustave Geffroy, the French journalist and art critic – Geffroy was one of the earliest historians of the Impressionist art movement and a loyal champion of Monet. He also refers to Margot Asquith and her “extraordinary” husband H. H. Asquith, who would later serve as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1908-1916). A wonderful letter covering the personalities and artistic landscape of turn-of-the-century London.