November
Claude Monet: A Life in Letters
Mark the centenary of the artist’s death with this inspiring new publication, co-edited by Karen Serres, Senior Curator of Paintings at the Courtauld Gallery.
The first major English-language publication devoted exclusively to Monet’s correspondence is now here, to mark the centenary of the artist’s death, Karen Serres, co-editor of the book, sheared with us few words about her research.
When I was undertaking research for the exhibition Monet and London. Views of the Thames (which opened at the Courtauld Gallery in 2024), the letters sent by Claude Monet from London to his family, friends and dealers were an invaluable resource. Many visitors asked where they could read them in their entirety but unfortunately, only a few have ever been published in English, and only partially. Marking the centenary of the artist’s death, Claude Monet: A Life in Letters is the first major English language publication dedicated to Monet’s correspondence and aims to be a biography of the artist in his own words. It reproduces and translates around 420 letters, selected by five co-editors (including me) from the approximately 3,650 letters known today. They range from Monet’s first impressions of Paris as an eighteen-year-old (he was raised in Le Havre in Normandy) to his wish, described in a letter written when he was 86, to live longer so he could finish his paintings. It also includes introductory essays to understand the context, reproductions of some of the letters themselves and images of the works discussed, as well as photographs of Monet and his surroundings.The letters show a Monet who is in turn anxious, funny, stubborn, exacting and disarmingly candid about his work, his money worries and the weather that so often thwarted him. I hope the book will be a revelation to admirers of Monet’s work, whether you read it cover to cover or dip in while standing in front of the Courtauld Gallery’s beautiful paintings by his hand.
Shop the first edition now, and learn more about Monet's life.
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Claude Monet: A Life in Letters
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Related collection
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Claude Monet: A Life in Letters
Claude Monet: A Life in Letters
£30.00
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£30.00
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Monet Vase of Flowers Double Mounted Print
Monet Vase of Flowers Double Mounted Print
£15.00
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Book of the month
Each month the Courtauld Shop team brings you delightful books picked for its relationship to our collection or gallery activities.
Claude Monet: A Life in Letters
Mark the centenary of the artist’s death with this inspiring new publication, co-edited by Karen Serres, Senior Curator of Paintings at the Courtauld Gallery.
Claude Monet: A Life in Letters
Claude Monet: A Life in Letters
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