The Courtauld Gallery unveils first ever UK exhibition dedicated to Claude Monet’s Impressionist paintings of London

The Griffin Catalyst Exhibition: Monet and London. Views of the Thames
27 September 2024 – 19 January 2025
Denise Coates Exhibition Galleries, The Courtauld Gallery

Press images available for download: http://tinyurl.com/4r4tzy4c

For the first time in 120 years, The Courtauld Gallery has reunited an extraordinary group of Claude Monet’s Impressionist paintings of London in the major exhibition The Griffin Catalyst Exhibition: Monet and London. Views of the Thames, opening on 27 September 2024.

These ravishing works have never been the subject of a UK exhibition. Begun during three visits to the capital between 1899 and 1901, the paintings depict Charing Cross Bridge, Waterloo Bridge, and the Houses of Parliament. The series was first unveiled in Paris in 1904 to great critical acclaim. Monet fervently wanted to show it in London the following year but the project fell through. The Courtauld Gallery has now realised Monet’s unfulfilled ambition of exhibiting this distinct group of works in London, just 300 metres from the Savoy Hotel where many of them were painted.

Claude Monet (1840-1926) is world renowned as the leading figure of French Impressionism, a movement that changed the course of modern art. Less known is the fact that some of his most remarkable paintings were made not in France but in London. They depict views of the Thames, capturing the river and its surrounding architecture as they had never been seen before, full of evocative atmosphere, mysterious light, and radiant colour. Monet came to London in the wintertime, fascinated by the effects of the London fog, a phenomenon produced by the city’s heavy industrialisation in the 19^th century. In London, the fog took on a particular density and a variety of hues that occurred nowhere else. Monet’s paintings are undoubtedly amongst the most significant representations of the Thames ever made and embody the complexity of his practice, 40 years after his debut, as he pushed the Impressionist approach to the extreme.

Monet started the paintings during his three long stays in London in 1899, 1900 and 1901 and finished them in his studio in Giverny, north of Paris. While he eventually painted almost 100 views of the Thames, his most ambitious project to date, the exhibition focuses on the smaller group of 37 paintings that were presented at the unveiling of the series in 1904. Monet completed these works as a unit specifically for their public display and he considered them the finest representatives of his artistic project. They constituted, in his eyes, the true ‘Thames series’. After the show, the paintings were dispersed, purchased by collectors in France and abroad. The exhibition The Griffin Catalyst Exhibition: Monet and London. Views of the Thames will feature 21 paintings, 18 of which were in the 1904 unveiling, in an unprecedented effort to recreate the display that Monet himself put together and the experience he wanted his audience to have seeing these extraordinary works.

Dr Karen Serres, Senior Curator of Paintings at The Courtauld, and curator of the exhibition, said: “More than any other Impressionist artist, Monet was very attentive to how his works were displayed. With his series paintings, he created a whole visual experience from multiple canvases of a same subject, what we would call today ‘an installation’. The Courtauld exhibition presents Monet’s paintings as he wanted them to be seen.”

Professor Mark Hallett, Märit Rausing Director of The Courtauld, said: “Monet and London is a unique exhibition: one, in fact, that has been more than a century in the making. It has been worth the wait. Bringing together Monet’s Thames paintings in this way allows us to appreciate their individual and collective brilliance and gives us a thrilling new perspective on both the artist and the city he depicted.”

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue, which showcases significant new research on the Thames series.

The exhibition’s lead sponsor is Griffin Catalyst, the civic engagement initiative of Citadel Founder and CEO Kenneth C. Griffin. The exhibition is supported by The Huo Family Foundation, with additional support from the Dr. Lee MacCormick Edwards Charitable Foundation.

Tickets for Monet and London are available to purchase on our website: courtauld.ac.uk/whats-on/exh-monet-and-london-views-of-the-thames/

The Courtauld has also extended its opening hours on four dates throughout the run to ensure visitors don’t miss out. The exhibition will be open from 10am – 9pm on the following dates: 25 October; 22 November; 13 December and 10 January 2025.

Friends get free unlimited entry to all exhibitions, access to presale tickets, priority booking to selected events, advance notice of art history short courses, exclusive events, discounts and more. Join at courtauld.ac.uk/friends

The Courtauld Lates: Monet and London

27 September 2024 and 17 January 2025

The Courtauld Gallery will be open until 22:30 on the first and last Friday of the exhibition, giving visitors the chance to enjoy an evening of world-class art, cocktails and music surrounded by The Courtauld’s collection of masterpieces at Somerset House.

27 Sept: courtauld.ac.uk/whats-on/the-courtauld-lates-monet-and-london/

17 Jan 2025: courtauld.ac.uk/whats-on/the-courtauld-lates-monet-and-london-2/

Exhibition Catalogue

The catalogue to accompany the exhibition is available to purchase from The Courtauld Shop, located on the Lower Ground floor of the Gallery, and online: https://shop.courtauld.ac.uk/collections/books/products/monet-and-london-views-of-the-thames

The Griffin Catalyst Exhibition: Monet and London. Views of the Thames

27 September 2024 – 19 January 2025

The Courtauld Gallery
Somerset House, Strand
London WC2R 0RN
Opening hours: 10.00 – 18.00 (last entry 17.15)

Temporary Exhibition tickets (including entry to our Permanent Collection and displays) – Weekday tickets from £16; Weekend tickets from £18.

Friends and Under-18s go free. Other concessions available