Claude Monet

Comte Jacques de la Lombardière, Giverny (acquired from the artist)
Sale: Hôtel des Ventes, Paris, November 21, 1980, lot 64
Frances Cain, Corpus Christi, Texas (and sold by the estate: Christie's, New York, November 15, 1990, lot 113)
Private Collection, New York (acquired at the above sale and sold: Christie's, New York, May 9, 2000, lot 316)
Acquired at the above sale

Corpus Christi, Texas, Art Museum of South Texas, 1987 (on loan)

Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet, Catalogue raisonné, vol. V, Lausanne, 1991, no. P74, illustrated p. 168

Work is in excellent condition. The pigment is very well preserved. Executed on wove paper, not laid down. The sheet was originally colored with a blue vegetable dye which has faded on the recto. Sheet is fixed to a mount along the perimeter of the verso with an X-shaped window to reveal a pencil drawing on the verso. There is a very slight waviness to the extreme perimeter of the sheet.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Claude Monet first developed and honed his talent as an artist in Normandy. His skill as a draughtsman is largely undocumented in the narrative of his career and the use of pastels are especially rare in his oeuvre. The majority of his pastels illustrate the landscape of his cherished Normandy, the region where the artist spent much of his adolescence (see fig. 1). Interestingly, these pastels were not used as preparatory studies for oil paintings but rather are independent works in their own right.

The intimate and informal nature of Ferme Normandie sous les arbres makes it a flawless example of a true plein air work and this medium proves ideal for capturing the artist’s impression of the scene before him. The vivid green foreground lures the viewer into an utterly tranquil scene and beneath the lush treetops Monet fills the middle ground with a rustic motif suggesting his appreciation for the art of Jean-François Millet and Eugène Boudin. Ferme Normandie sous les arbres is marked by a variety of depth and texture, conveying the powerful immediacy of the artist’s hand. Scholar Richard Brettell observes, “There is little doubt that the Impressionist painter Claude Monet was the greatest visual poet of Normandy” (Heather Lemonedes, Lynn Federle Orr & David Steel, Monet in Normandy, New York, 2006, p. 15).