ALS in grease pencil in French, four pages on two adjoining sheets, 5 x 8, personal Giverny par Vernon letterhead, September 22, 1923. Letter written from his famous Giverny gardens after he'd undergone multiple eye operations due to his deteriorating sight; during this period, he felt as if he were seeing with a predominance of yellow (xanthopsia). In part (translated): "Good and dear friend, I do not want to wait any longer to reply to your letter, and I want to say frankly and after careful reflection that I absolutely refuse (for the moment at least) to let myself operate on the left eye; you are far away and do not know at all in what state I find myself in terms of my vision and the transformation of colors and you can not advise me. I see, I read, I write and this is probably the only result that can be obtained: I fear it, then, until I find a painter, whoever he may be, having been operated on, and declaring to me that he has been able to see all the colorations as before—only then, I will let myself be done. I'm waiting for Coutela tomorrow morning. I hope he will change my glasses and we will see if there is an improvement." In fine condition. Despite Monet's challenges with worsening eyesight—which Dr. Charles Coutela aimed to counteract with cataract surgeries and new pairs of glasses—the painter continued to work on his great Water Lilies (Nymphéas) series. An important letter written from Giverny, the site of his famous water lily pond.
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