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Lot Essay
Oftentimes overlooked, Mary MacMonnies' rich Impressionist canvases are some of the most vibrant images painted by an American artist in Giverny. Given the standard degree of marginalization of being a "woman artist" at the time, MacMonnies reputation languished through an automatic association with her two famous artist husbands, Frederick MacMonnies and Will Hicock Low. Mary studied at the St. Louis School of Fine Arts, from which she won a three-year extended scholarship to study in Paris at the Académie Julian. Her first submission in 1886 to the Paris Salon was accepted, beginning a series of regular appearances at the Salon through 1891. In 1889, MacMonnies furthered her studies at the Académie under the French Salon master, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, and also with Carolus-Duran at the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts.
The MacMonnieses first visited Giverny in April 1890 and by 1895 they had settled there, taking a three-year lease on a cottage known as Villa Besche and later moving to a larger estate known as "Le Prieure." Mary MacMonnies delighted in painting figure scenes set in her garden, particularly pictures of her daughter, Berthe, as in the present work.
The MacMonnieses first visited Giverny in April 1890 and by 1895 they had settled there, taking a three-year lease on a cottage known as Villa Besche and later moving to a larger estate known as "Le Prieure." Mary MacMonnies delighted in painting figure scenes set in her garden, particularly pictures of her daughter, Berthe, as in the present work.