Claude Monet

Durand-Ruel, Paris (acquired from the artist in December 1882)
Mathias, Paris
Durand-Ruel, Paris (acquired circa 1898)
Acquired from the above by the father of the present owner in 1950

Paris, Durand-Ruel, Exposition des œuvres de Claude Monet, 1883, no. 52 
Paris, Durand-Ruel, Claude Monet, 1970, no. 33 (part), illustrated in the catalogue 

Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet, Biographie et catalogue raisonné 1882-1886, Geneva, 1979, vol. II, no. 952, illustrated p. 149 and as part of the door p. 148 
Daniel Wildenstein, Monet Catalogue Raisonné, Cologne, 1996, vol. II, no. 952, illustrated p. 354

The canvas is lined. There are four spots of old retouching to the centre of the upper edge. There are some scattered pinhead-sized spots of retouching at intervals to the edges of the work, with some associated pinhead-sized paint losses, due to frame rubbing. This work is in good condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Pêches was part of a series of panels commissioned to decorate the drawing room of Paul Durand-Ruel, the art dealer who was instrumental in raising Monet's profile as an artist prior to the 1880s. Having previously gained a reputation as a radical but commercially unsuccessful innovator, by the time he painted these panels Monet had began to step out from the show of his main patron, launching a solo exhibition in 1880 and participating in a series of further exhibitions at the Galeries Georges Petit, Durand-Ruel's main rival. These strategies introduced Monet's art to a much wider public, and the resulting financial rewards allowed Monet to rent the house in Giverny in 1883.

However, despite this diversification of his clientele, Durand-Ruel remained Monet's most important client, buying 21 works in 1884. The commission that this work belongs to occupied the artist between 1882 and 1885, and consisted of thirty six paintings of fruit and flowers to decorate the dealer's Parisian apartment. Lusciously painted and quite innovative in terms of the organisation of decorative groups, these charming still lives were sufficiently important for Monet to expend considerable time and energy on their completion; as he wrote in a letter to Durand-Ruel, 'To finish these panels, how many did I need to destroy. More than twenty, perhaps even thirty'.