Between 1890 and 1891 Monet devoted some thirty paintings to the haystacks in a field near his house at Giverny. In the midst of this effort, he wrote to the critic Gustave Geoffroy: "I am working very hard, struggling with a series of different effects (haystacks), but at this season the sun sets so fast I cannot follow it. . . . The more I continue, the more I see that a great deal of work is necessary in order to succeed in rendering what I seek." Haystacks was the first group of paintings that Monet exhibited as a series; in 1891, fifteen were shown at the Galerie Durand-Ruel in Paris.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Haystacks (Effect of Snow and Sun)
Artist:Claude Monet (French, Paris 1840–1926 Giverny)
Date:1891
Medium:Oil on canvas
Dimensions:25 3/4 x 36 1/4 in. (65.4 x 92.1 cm)
Classification:Paintings
Credit Line:H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
Object Number:29.100.109
Inscription: Signed and dated (lower left): Claude Monet 91
Potter Palmer, Chicago (until 1893; sold on January 24, 1893 to Durand-Ruel, New York); [Durand-Ruel, New York, 1893–94; stock no. 1016; sold on January 16, 1894 to Havemeyer]; Mr. and Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, New York (1894–his d. 1907); Mrs. H. O. (Louisine W.) Havemeyer, New York (1907–d. 1929; cat., 1931, pp. 158–59, ill., as "Landscape—Meules, effet de neige")
Paris. Durand-Ruel. "Exposition Claude Monet," May 1891, no. 7 (as "Meules [Effet de neige; soleil]").
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The H. O. Havemeyer Collection," March 10–November 2, 1930, no. 86 [2nd ed., 1958, no. 173].
Newark Museum. "19th-Century French and American Paintings from the Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art," April 9–May 15, 1946, no. 22.
Minneapolis. University Gallery, University of Minnesota. "Space in Painting," January 28–March 7, 1952, no catalogue.
Phoenix Fine Arts Association. "An Exhibition to Coincide with the World Symposium on Applied Solar Energy," October 17–November 6, 1955, no catalogue [see Sterling and Salinger 1967].
Milwaukee Art Center. "Man's Concept of Outer Space," October 1, 1958–February 15, 1959, no catalogue [see Ref. Sterling and Salinger 1967].
New York. Museum of Modern Art. "Claude Monet: Seasons and Moments," March 9–May 15, 1960, no. 46 (as "Haystacks in Snow").
Los Angeles County Museum. "Claude Monet: Seasons and Moments," June 14–August 7, 1960, no. 46.
Nashville. Fisk University. "100 Years of European Painting," April 28–June 10, 1965, unnum. checklist (as "Haystacks").
New York. Richard L. Feigen & Co. "Claude Monet," October 15–November 15, 1969, no. 31.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Impressionist Epoch," December 12, 1974–February 10, 1975, not in catalogue.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Monet's Years at Giverny: Beyond Impressionism," April 19–July 9, 1978, no. 12.
Saint Louis Art Museum. "Monet's Years at Giverny: Beyond Impressionism," August 1–October 8, 1978, no. 12.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. "Monet in the 90s: The Series Paintings," February 7–April 29,1990, no. 23 (as "Grainstacks. [Winter.]").
Art Institute of Chicago. "Monet in the 90s: The Series Paintings," May 19–August 24, 1990, no. 23.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Splendid Legacy: The Havemeyer Collection," March 27–June 20, 1993, no. A406.
Amsterdam. Van Gogh Museum. "Theo van Gogh," June 24–September 5, 1999, not in catalogue.
Paris. Musée d'Orsay. "Theo van Gogh: Marchand de tableaux, collectionneur, frère de Vincent," September 27, 1999–January 9, 2000, not in catalogue.
Hamburger Kunsthalle. "Monets Vermächtnis: Serie, Ordnung und Obsession," September 28, 2001–January 2, 2002, unnumbered cat. (as "Meules, effet d'hiver").
THIS WORK MAY NOT BE LENT.
Frank Jewett Mather Jr. "The Havemeyer Pictures." The Arts 16 (March 1930), p. 479, mentions the "heavy experimental stippling of the haycocks".
Harry B. Wehle. "The Exhibition of the H. O. Havemeyer Collection." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 25 (March 1930), p. 56, as "Haystacks in Snow".
H. O. Havemeyer Collection: Catalogue of Paintings, Prints, Sculpture and Objects of Art. n.p., 1931, pp. 158–59, ill.
Stephen Gwynn. Claude Monet and His Garden: The Story of an Artist's Paradise. New York, 1934, p. 168.
Oscar Reuterswärd. Monet. Stockholm, 1948, p. 286.
"Met Paintings Shown Here." Barnard Bulletin 53 (December 3, 1948), p. 1, notes that the picture was one of five paintings lent to Barnard College and hung in Brooks Hall [the period of loan was November 17, 1948–May 31, 1949].
Josephine L. Allen and Elizabeth E. Gardner. A Concise Catalogue of the European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1954, p. 69.
Charles Sterling and Margaretta M. Salinger. French Paintings: A Catalogue of the Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Vol. 3, XIX–XX Centuries. New York, 1967, pp. 137–38, ill.
Douglas Cooper. "The Monets in the Metropolitan Museum." Metropolitan Museum Journal 3 (1970), pp. 298–99, 302–5, fig. 25, claims that Potter Palmer bought it in 1891, the year it was painted.
Carl R. Baldwin. The Impressionist Epoch. Exh. brochure, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. [New York], 1974, p. 19.
Lydie Huyghe in René Huyghe. La Relève du réel: la peinture française au XIXe siècle: impressionnisme, symbolisme. Paris, 1974, fig. 131.
Daniel Wildenstein. Claude Monet: Biographie et catalogue raisonné. Vol. 3, 1887–1898: Peintures. Paris, 1979, p. 13 n. 745, pp. 38, 142–43, no. 1279, ill.
Daniel Wildenstein. Claude Monet: Biographie et catalogue raisonné. Vol. 2, 1882–1886: Peintures. Lausanne, 1979, p. 34 n. 355.
Robert Herbert. "Method and Meaning in Monet." Art in America 67 (September 1979), p. 108.
Grace Seiberling. Monet's Series. PhD diss., Yale University. New York, 1981, pp. 93, 96, 358, no. 23, fig. 12.
John House. "Monet in 1890." Aspects of Monet. Ed. John Rewald and Frances Weitzenhoffer. New York, 1984, pp. 128, 138 n. 20, fig. 58.
Richard R. Brettell. "Monet's Haystacks Reconsidered." Museum Studies 11 (Fall 1984), pp. 7, 12, 19, 21 nn. 7, 15, 17, 20, fig. 6b, suggests that this picture may have been either no. 6 ("Meules. [Effet de neige; temps gris.]") or no. 7 ("Meules. [Effet de neige; soleil]") in the 1891 exhibition; discusses the Haystacks series, including a debate about how Monet may have intended the series to hang together; refers to Mrs. Potter Palmer's collection and her preference for Monet, which led her to collect nine paintings from the Haystacks series.
Charles S. Moffett. "Monet's Haystacks." Aspects of Monet. Ed. John Rewald and Frances Weitzenhoffer. New York, 1984, p. 157 n. 4.
Charles S. Moffett. Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1985, pp. 140–41, 252, ill. (color).
Frances Weitzenhoffer. The Havemeyers: Impressionism Comes to America. New York, 1986, pp. 98, 257, pl. 42.
Paul Hayes Tucker. Monet in the '90s: The Series Paintings. Exh. cat., Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Boston, 1990, pp. 3, 77, 80, 82, 296, no. 23, colorpl. 23, points out that, realistically, the shadows of the two stacks should be parallel to each other and that the shadow of the smaller one should also have a conical top.
Gary Tinterow. "Miracle au Met." Connaissance des arts no. 472 (June 1991), p. 36.
John Sallis. "Monet's Grainstacks: Shades of Time." Tema Celeste no. 30 (March/April 1991), pp. 65, 67 n. 12 [reprinted with minor changes in "Shades–of Painting at the Limit," Bloomington, 1998, p. 37 n. 32, p. 53, colorpl. 9], discusses the Haystacks series, and asserts that they are in fact stacks of wheat or other grain and should be referred to as Wheatstacks or Grainstacks; discusses Monet's technique of painting several canvases during the day, moving between them as the light changed.
Virginia Spate. Claude Monet: Life and Work. New York, 1992, p. 213, colorpl. 232, discusses Monet's inspiration for the Haystacks series and its reception at Durand-Ruel in 1891; mentions that several of the paintings shown were sold to Mrs. Potter Palmer.
Susan Alyson Stein inSplendid Legacy: The Havemeyer Collection. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1993, p. 215.
Gary Tinterow inSplendid Legacy: The Havemeyer Collection. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1993, p. 33.
Gretchen Wold inSplendid Legacy: The Havemeyer Collection. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1993, p. 365, no. A406, ill.
Virginia Spate. "Confronting the Sun, Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monet 1888–91." Van Gogh, The Songlines of Legend. Ed. Felicity St. John Moore. Melbourne, [1993], pp. 50–51, 54–55, discusses the Haystacks series and how it may have been partly inspired by Van Gogh's work with color.
Katharine Baetjer. European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Artists Born Before 1865: A Summary Catalogue. New York, 1995, p. 477, ill.
Daniel Wildenstein. Monet or the Triumph of Impressionism. Vol. 1, 2nd ed. Cologne, 1996, p. 275, ill. pp. 270–71 (color).
Daniel Wildenstein. Monet. Vol. 3, Catalogue raisonné–Werkverzeichnis: Nos. 969–1595. 2nd ed. Cologne, 1996, p. 500, no. 1279, ill. p. 493 (color).
Georges Roque. "Chevreul and Impressionism: A Reappraisal." Art Bulletin (March 1996), p. 37, mentions the use of blue for the shadow as an example of the Impressionists', and particularly Monet's, systematic employment of the colors blue and violet in shadows.
Caroline Durand-Ruel. "Quand les Havemeyers aimaient la peinture française." Connaissance des arts no. 544 (November 1997), p. 108.
Sylvie Patin. "La collection Havemeyer." 48/14: La revue du Musée d'Orsay no. 5 (Fall 1997), p. 9.
Annabelle Görgen inMonets Vermächtnis: Serie, Ordnung und Obsession. Exh. cat., Hamburger Kunsthalle. Hamburg, 2001, p. 183, ill. 63 (color).
Horst Keller. Monets Jahre in Giverny, Ein Garten wird Malerei. Cologne, 2001, p. 67, ill. p. 68 (color).
Eric M. Zafran inClaude Monet (1840–1926): A Tribute to Daniel Wildenstein and Katia Granoff. Exh. cat., Wildenstein & Co., Inc. New York, 2007, pp. 84, 112.
Joseph Baillio and Cora Michael inClaude Monet (1840–1926): A Tribute to Daniel Wildenstein and Katia Granoff. Exh. cat., Wildenstein & Co., Inc. New York, 2007, pp. 166, 203.
Paul Hayes Tucker inClaude Monet (1840–1926): A Tribute to Daniel Wildenstein and Katia Granoff. Exh. cat., Wildenstein & Co., Inc. New York, 2007, p. 75, fig. 14 (color).
Charles Stuckey inThe Repeating Image: Multiples in French Painting from David to Matisse. Ed. Eik Kahng. Exh. cat., Walters Art Museum. Baltimore, 2007, pp. 85, 90–93, 112, 118, fig. 7 (color).
Sandra Gianfreda. "The early 'Japonistes'." Monet, Gauguin, Van Gogh . . . "Japanese Inspirations" Museum Folkwang. Exh. cat., Museum Folkwang, Essen. Göttingen, 2014, p. 66.
Jill Shaw inMonet Paintings and Drawings at the Art Institute of Chicago. Ed. Gloria Groom and Jill Shaw. Chicago, 2014, para. 22, under nos. 27–33, fig. 13 (color) [https://publications.artic.edu/monet/reader/paintingsanddrawings/section/135470], includes it among nine paintings from the Haystacks series that are on standard-size no. 30 “paysage” format canvases; notes that while most of these depict single stacks, The Met’s painting and “Grainstacks, White Frost Effect” (1891, National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh; W1277) show two stacks; suggests that Monet started the Haystacks series more programmatically than is indicted by the final canvases based on new technical analysis of “Stack of Wheat (Snow Effect, Overcast Day)” and “Stacks of Wheat (Sunset, Snow Effect)” (both 1890/91, Art Institute of Chicago; W1281 and W1278, respectively).
Kathryn Calley Galitz. The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Masterpiece Paintings. New York, 2016, p. 449, no. 404, ill. pp. 407, 449 (color).
Simon Kelly inMonet: The Late Years. Exh. cat., Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Fort Worth, 2019, p. 47.
Marianne Mathieu inMonet: The Late Years. Exh. cat., Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Fort Worth, 2019, pp. 82, 205 n. 32.
Laura D. Corey and Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen. "Visions of Collecting." Making The Met, 1870–2020. Ed. Andrea Bayer with Laura D. Corey. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2020, pp. 139, 265 n. 50.
Katharine Baetjer inEuropean Masterpieces from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Exh. cat., Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art. South Brisbane, 2021, ill. p. 31 (color installation view).
André Dombrowski. Monet's Minutes: Impressionism and the Industrialization of Time. New Haven, 2023, pp. 174, 179, 181.
At Giverny Monet worked on a series of haystacks; he showed fifteen of them, including this work, at Durand-Ruel, Paris, in 1891.
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