Women & Garderns -- Claude Monet 1840-1926

 Claude Monet (French artist, 1840-1926) A Woman Reading

When Monet was about 43, at the beginning of May 1883, Monet & his large family rented a house & 2 acres from a local landowner. The house was situated near the main road between the towns of Vernon & Gasny at Giverny. There was a barn that doubled as a painting studio, orchards & a small garden. The house was close enough to the local schools for the children to attend. 

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French artist, 1841-1919) Monet Painting In His Garden In Argenteuil  1873

The surrounding landscape at Giverny offered an endless array of suitable motifs for Monet's work. The family worked & built up the gardens. 

John Singer Sargent (American ex-patriot artist, 1865-1925) Monet Painting by the Edge of a Wood 1885

Monet's fortunes began to change for the better as his dealer had increasing success in selling his paintings. By November 1890, Monet was prosperous enough to buy the Giverny house, the surrounding buildings & the land for his gardens. Within a few years by 1899 Monet built a greenhouse & a 2nd studio, a spacious building, lit with skylights.

Monet was fond of painting controlled nature such as his own gardens in Giverny, with its water lilies, pond, & bridge. He also painted up & down the banks of the Seine. Beginning in the 1880s & 1890s, through the end of his life in 1926, Monet worked on "series" paintings, in which a subject was depicted in varying light & weather conditions painted from different points of view & at different times of the day. 

Claude Monet (French artist, 1840-1926) Alice Hoschede In the Garden

 Claude Monet (French artist, 1840-1926) At The Parc Monceau

 Claude Monet (French artist, 1840-1926) Camille at the Window

Claude Monet (French artist, 1840-1926) Dejeuner Sur L'Herbe A Chailly

 Claude Monet (French artist, 1840-1926) Evening in the Meadow at Giverny

 Claude Monet (French artist, 1840-1926) Lady In A Garden 1867

 Claude Monet (French artist, 1840-1926) Lilacs in Grey Weather

 Claude Monet (French artist, 1840-1926) Luncheon on the Grass

Claude Monet (French artist, 1840-1926) Madame Monet and Child in a Garden

Claude Monet (French artist, 1840-1926) Monet's Garden at Giverny

Claude Monet (French artist, 1840-1926) Suzanne Reading and Blanche Painting by The Marsh at Giverny

 Claude Monet (French artist, 1840-1926) The Artist's Garden at Vetheuil 1880

Claude Monet (French artist, 1840-1926) The Artist's Family in the Garden

 Claude Monet (French artist, 1840-1926) Camille Monet On A Garden Bench

 Claude Monet (French artist, 1840-1926) The Parc Monceau

 Claude Monet (French artist, 1840-1926) The Stroller (Suzanne Hischede)

 Claude Monet (French artist, 1840-1926) The Strollers

 Claude Monet (French artist, 1840-1926) The Walk Argenteuil

 Claude Monet (French artist, 1840-1926) Women in the Garden

Claude Monet (French artist, 1840-1926) Girl in the Garden at Giverny

Claude Monet (French artist, 1840-1926) Woman with a Parasol in the Garden in Argenteuil 1875

Claude Monet (French artist, 1840-1926) Woman on a Garden Bench 1874

Claude Monet (French artist, 1840-1926) In the FlowerMeadow

Claude Monet (French artist, 1840-1926) Mme Manet with a Friend in the Garden 1872

Claude Monet (French artist, 1840-1926) Terrace at St Adresse

Claude Monet (French artist, 1840-1926) Luncheon in the Garden

19C Women in Gardens - French

Claude Monet (French painter) 1840 - 1926 Camille Monet and a Child in the Artist's Garden in Argenteuil, 1875

19C Women in Gardens =- French

 
Elisabeth Sonrel (French painter) 1874 - 1953  Un après-midi au jardin (An afternoon in the garden), 1896

+++ 19C Women in Gardens - Australian

 
Emanuel Phillips Fox (Australian painter) 1865 - 1915 The Arbor,

+++ 19C Women in Gardens - British

 
George Dunlop Leslie (British painter) 1835 - 1921  Five O'Clock, c. 1874

+++ 19C Women in Gardens German

 

Frederick Walker (British painter) 1840 - 1875 Garden in Autumn, 1864

+++ 18C American Women in Gardens

1742-46 1750s Walled Garden & Grounds at Cleve in Virginia. Anne Byrd of Westover (1725-1757) (Mrs. Charles Carter). Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.attributed to William Dering, Anne Byrd Carter. 

Detail 1755 Joseph Blackburn (fl 1753-1763). Isaac Winslow & His Family with a brick garden wall with finials at the gate in background. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

1760 William Williams (1727-1791). Deborah Richmond in front of a sophisticated curved wall. 

c 1763 John Singleton Copley (1738-1815). Mary Turner (Mrs. Daniel Sargent) in front of a Garden Wall.

1767 James Claypoole (1743-1814). Ann Galloway (Mrs Joseph Pemberton) sitting at a low wall.

+++ Women & Gardens - American

 Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836-1910)  Girl and Laurel 

"The sun will not rise or set without my notice, and thanks." Winslow Homer

Winslow Homer was an American artist. He is considered one of the foremost painters in 19C America and a preeminent figure in American art. Largely self-taught, Homer began his career working as a commercial illustrator.

Winslow Homer (1836-1910) Peach Blossoms

Winslow Homer (1836-1910) Girl in a Garden

Winslow Homer (1836-1910) Peach Blossoms

Winslow Homer (1836-1910) The Garden Wall

Winslow Homer (1836-1910) On the Fence

Winslow Homer (1836-1910) The Garden Gate

Women & Gardens - American

Richard Edward Miller (American painter, 1875-1943) By the Riverbank 1910

Richard Emil Miller (1875-1943) In the Garden

Richard Emil Miller (1875-1943) Reading in the Garden

Richard Emil Miller (1875-1943) Summer Reverie in the Garden

Richard Emil Miller (1875-1943) The Garden Seat

Richard Emil Miller (1875-1943) Woman Reading in the Garden

Richard Emil Miller (1875-1943) Woman with Parasol in the Garden

Richard Edward or Emil Miller (1875-1943) Reverie in the Garden

Richard Edward Miller (American Painter, 1875–1943): Biography

Richard Edward Miller was an American Impressionist painter born on March 22, 1875, in St. Louis, Missouri, and best known for his paintings of women in richly decorated interiors or bathed in outdoor sunlight. He was part of the Giverny Group, a colony of American painters in Giverny, France, associated with Claude Monet, and a prominent member of the American Impressionist movement. His work is characterized by its vibrant color, intimate domestic scenes, and a focus on capturing light and atmosphere.

Miller studied at the St. Louis School of Fine Arts, an experience that laid the groundwork for his later development. He moved to Paris in 1898 to attend the Académie Julian, a renowned private art academy where he honed his craft under teachers like Jean-Paul Laurens. Miller became part of the American Art Colony in Giverny, where he developed his signature style. His works are distinguished by their vivid color palette, loose brushwork, and graceful depictions of women, often in peaceful, contemplative poses.

In 1906, Miller exhibited at the Salon de la Société des Artistes Français in Paris, marking his international breakthrough. By this time, his style had evolved towards decorative Impressionism, marked by lush patterns, vibrant color contrasts, and intimate settings of women in interiors or gardens.

In 1910, Miller returned to the United States and taught at the Provincetown Art Colony in Massachusetts, which became an important site for American modernist painters. He also taught at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Miller's time as a teacher influenced a generation of American artists.

His career garnered many honors, including medals at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition (1915) in San Francisco. Miller's paintings are held in numerous major public collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and others.

 Miller is most noted for his portraits of women in intimate, everyday settings, surrounded by luxurious, colorful fabrics and bathed in soft light. His brushwork is fluid and expressive, akin to the French Impressionist style, but his compositions often exhibit a more structured, decorative quality that aligns him with the decorative arts movement of the early 20th century. His use of bold patterns and strong colors demonstrates a mastery of color harmony and an interest in the effects of natural and artificial light.

Miller passed away on January 23, 1943, in St. Augustine, Florida, leaving behind a legacy as one of the premier American Impressionists of his time.

Bibliography 

Books:

Adams, Henry. American Impressionism and Realism: The Painting of Modern Life, 1885-1915. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1994.

Clark, Charles Teaze. Richard E. Miller: An Impression and Appreciation. The Richard E. Miller Memorial Association, 1944.

Gerdts, William H., and Abigail Booth Gerdts. Richard E. Miller: American Impressionist. Spanierman Gallery, 1997.

McConkey, Kenneth. Impressionism in Britain and America. Phaidon Press, 1990.

Spanierman, Ira. American Painting in the Impressionist Era: The Influence of the French School from Barbizon Through Giverny. Spanierman Gallery, 1980.

Articles:

Carbone, Teresa A. "Women and Domestic Spaces in American Impressionism: The Case of Richard Edward Miller." American Art, vol. 18, no. 3, 2004, pp. 30-48.

Fry, Linda L. "Richard E. Miller: American Impressionist." American Art Review, vol. 6, no. 1, 1994, pp. 112-123.

Gerdts, William H. "Richard E. Miller and the American Garden." Garden History, vol. 22, no. 1, 1994, pp. 85-95.

Kilmurray, Elaine, and David Ludley. "Giverny Revisited: The Influence of Claude Monet on American Painters in France." The Burlington Magazine, vol. 125, no. 967, 1983, pp. 347-349.