ALS in French, signed “Your old man Claude,” four pages on two adjoining sheets, 4.5 x 7, March 9, 1900. Letter to his second wife, Alice, written while in London. In full: “My good darling, still no letter from you this morning, and the only news I had was a nice letter from Blanche who is telling us that her house seems so empty since you left. Very nice weather here today and sun a rare thing as I anticipated it sets already so far from the place where I was dreaming to have it set in a huge ball of fire behind the parliament, so let’s not think about it anymore, nevertheless it has been a good day of work and if I had several to follow like that I would do a much better job. I am waiting for Michelle for dinner having promised to treat her to the hippodrome which it is said to be very nice, then tomorrow it is the Hunter’s dinner with G. Moore the day having been changed. Nothing new except for that. I am feeling admirably well and I hope that it will be the same until going back.
I hope that you found the house and garden as well as the greenhouse in good shape. It would be good that you keep an eye on it from time to time so that Pascal gets used to being watched a little, just the same it would be good to know what is going on at Florimond’s garden, see if the vegetables are in good shape, know what is planted. Eugene is supposed to go twice a week. It would be necessary to find out and go the day that he is there. I am shattered by the Comédie-francaise’s fire of which I have learned yesterday at dinner but don’t know all the details yet. Until tomorrow my good darling, I love you and think about you. I am sending you all my affection. Kisses to Germain, say hello to Miss Jeanne.” In the margin, Monet also adds, “I am receiving this instant your lines from yesterday, they are not cheerful. You don’t tell me anything.” Light overall toning, a few words of text a couple shades light due to reduced ink flow, and light show-through from text on reverse, otherwise fine condition.
Monet by this point was a well-established artist and considered one of France’s leading landscape painters. During this stay in London, he had been working on his House of Parliament series—identically sized portraits created from the view Monet had in his room at St. Thomas’ Hospital. His reference to the Comedie Francaise was a blaze that destroyed the centuries-old facility and killed a young actress. And of course, Monet references his beloved garden. By the early 1900s, his flower garden contained hundreds of thousands of flowers and required the attention of five full-time gardeners. A lengthy correspondence to his beloved, touching on not only events of the day but his greatest inspiration—the garden. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RRAuction COA.
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