Claude MONET works in memory of his friend Alfred SILSEY.

Claude Monet (1840.1926)

Autograph letter signed to the collector and patron François Depeaux.

Four pages in-8° on mourning paper with Giverny letterhead by Vernon

Giverny. March 21 [18]99.

“I wrote directly to the painters who showed sympathy to Sisley . »

Important letter from Monet dedicated to the succession of the works of Alfred Sisley who died a few weeks earlier. The master of impressionism is busy at the same time with a public sale of Sisley's paintings and a subscription for the Luxembourg museum, wishing to preserve the memory of his friend and the interests of his two children.

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“My dear Henri, I received your letter of the 20th and also your telegram this morning. Miss Jeanne has just written to Madame Depeaux to inform her that she will arrive tomorrow Wednesday at 4:55 a.m. For my part, as I see that we will have difficulty reaching each other, not wanting to be absent at the moment because of my wife, I am writing to you what I wanted to tell you.

1° that the subscription for the purchase of a painting by Sisley to offer in Luxembourg should be closed shortly .

2° that the sale of a certain number of paintings by Sisley and donations from his friends and colleagues being decided for the date of April 29-30 and May 1 ^, it was urgent before starting anything the other, to first choose the painting to offer in Luxembourg and then the paintings intended for public sale. That done, all that would remain is to cautiously take advantage of the offers that arise, but the first thing in my opinion would be to definitely make these two choices. And since you are in Paris, you could consult on this subject with Mrs ^Tavernier and Viau, not wanting to take any responsibility.

In short, to do good work, you have to be in complete agreement and I would be sorry if anyone could blame me for having caused the children [Sisley] to miss a profitable opportunity. It is this consideration that makes me desire that above all these two things be done once and for all.

Actively taking care of the planned sale, I would like it to be a success for our dear friend and for his children. I wrote directly to the painters who showed sympathy to Sisley . I have already received several favorable responses and I have every reason to hope that it will work as desired. If it is urgent that I come to Paris, telegraph quickly. Yours truly devoted Claude Monet. »

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The last years of the British painter Alfred Sisley (1839.1899) were difficult. Suffering from throat cancer, he was too weak to attend the funeral of his wife who died in October 1898. His illness progressed suddenly. On January 21, 1899, he called Claude Monet to his home in Moret-sur-Loing to say goodbye and beg him to watch over his two children. He died eight days later, on January 29.

Monet took the initiative of an exhibition and a sale of the workshop for the benefit of the children Jeanne-Adèle and Pierre Sisley. Several galleries then presented paintings by the artist, in Paris as in New York, and articles paid tribute to his memory. On May 1st, the auction of the workshop and works offered by friends, including Mary Cassatt, Cézanne, Pissarro, Renoir, Rodin and Vuillard, took place at Georges Petit.

An informed collector and patron of Sisley, François Depeaux (1853.1920) owned more than fifty of his paintings. His collection of nearly 600 paintings also included several works by Monet, as well as Pissarro, Renoir and Toulouse Lautrec. Part of his collection was dispersed in 1901 to the Hôtel Drouot. In 1903 he offered 300 paintings to the Museum of Fine Arts in Rouen. In 1909, its curator accepted a donation of fifty-three impressionist and post-impressionist works.