Theodore Earl Butler

Estate of the artist

Jean-Marie Toulgouat (grandson of the above, by descent)

Acquired from the above in 1966 by the present owner

New York, Hope David Fine Art, 1989

Claude Monet's garden in Giverny left an indelible mark on the history of art. Nurturing his willow trees, flowers and pond for nearly half a century, Monet crafted a picturesque landscape that inspired countless compositions over his lifetime—most notably, the water lily series of his later years.

Monet's contemporaries were similarly inspired by the carefully cultivated beauty of his garden. In 1888, Theodore Earl Butler moved to Giverny to work alongside other prominent Impressionist painters, and in 1892, he married Monet's stepdaughter Suzanne Hoschedé.

In the present work executed circa 1894-95, Butler depicts Suzanne and their daughter Lily seated on wicker chairs in Monet's luminous, vibrantly colored garden. Butler's schematic composition and loose brushwork foreshadow the near abstraction of Monet's water lilies from the 1900s to 1920s.