Claude Monet

Durand-Ruel, Paris (acquired before 1886)

William H. Fuller, New York (acquired from the above in May 1886 and sold: American Art Association, New York, March 13, 1903, lot 152)

Durand-Ruel, New York (acquired at the above sale) 

Arthur B. Emmons, New York and Newport (acquired from the above on January 10, 1907)

Julia W. Emmons, New York & Newport (inherited from the above 1922)

Acquired as a bequest from the above in 1956

Brussels, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Troisième exposition annuelle des XX, 1886, no. 9 (titled Sur la falaise à Pourville)

New York, National Academy of Design & American Art Association, Works in Oil and Pastel by the Impressionists of Paris,  1886, no. 295 (titled On the Cliff)

(possibly) New York, Union League Club. Paintings by Old Masters, and Modern Foreign and American Painters, together with an Exhibition of the Work of Claude Monet the Impressionist, 1891, no. 54 (as The Cliffs)

New York, Lotos Club, Pictures by Claude Monet,  1899, no. 20 (titled On the Cliff)

(possibly) New York, Durand-Ruel, Exhibition of Paintings by Claude Monet, 1907, no. 10 (titled Bords de la falaise à Pourville)

 

"A Late Exhibition," The New York World, New York, May 25, 1886

P. H. "L'Exposition de Monet" L'Art dans les Deux Mondes, Paris, February 28, 1891, p. 173

"W.H. Fuller's Monets sold," The Sun, New York, March 14, 1903

M.Octave Maus, Trente années de lutte pour l'art, Brussels, 1926, p. 43

(possibly) Lionello Venturi, Archives Impressionnistes, vol. I, Paris, 1939, p. 268

Charles Sterling & M.M. Salinger, French Paintings, volume III, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1967, p. 134

Douglas Cooper, "The Monets in the Metropolitan Museum of Art," Metropolitan Museum Journal, vol. 3, New York, 1970, illustrated p. 294

Luigina Rossi Bortolatto, L'Opera Completa di Claude Monet 1870-1889, 1972, illustrated p. 103

Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet, Biographie et catalogue raisonné, vol. II, Lausanne, 1979, no. 752, illustrated p. 77

Daniel Wildenstein, Monet, Catalogue raisonné, vol. II, Cologne, 1996, no. 752, illustrated in color p. 281

Excellent condition. Original canvas. The surface texture is intact. Under UV, there is some very minor pin-dot florescence along the extreme right framing edge corresponding with old losses, but otherwise the canvas appears to be untouched.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Monet’s spectacular seascape from Pourville bears all the hallmarks of a great Impressionist picture.  Painted in 1882 when the artist was renowned as one of the pillars of the original Impressionist group, Monet painted Sur la falaise à Pourville on a cliff overlooking the ocean, where the artist set up his easel during one of his “plein-air” painting expeditions.  The scene here, with the sweeping vista of the chilly ocean as a backdrop, is remarkable for its atmospheric drama, with the wind rustling the tall grass and the briny haze of the water rising over the purple cliffs of the rocky beach.  The picture was purchased not long after its completion by the artist’s Parisian dealer Durand-Ruel, who was instrumental in establishing the artist’s reputation throughout Europe and abroad.  This glorious composition was one of the first major Impressionist canvases to be sent to the United States.

Featured in the collection of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art for over half a century, this dramatic precipice overlooking the Atlantic is one of Monet's best-known depictions of the Normandy coast.  When Monet discovered the quiet village of Pourville, where the present work was painted, he wrote to Alice Hoschedé that it was set in “a very beautiful region” where he “couldn’t be closer to the sea […] I only regret not coming here sooner””(quoted in Paul Tucker, Claude Monet: Life and Art,New Haven & London, 1995, p. 109).  Coastal scenes of Normandy, including the town of Pourville, were among Monet’s favorite subjects in the 1880s.  Its wide expanses appealed to the artist’s fascination with space, as well as with the pure elements of earth, water and sky. Monet eliminated allusions to human presence and signs of modern life, in order to achieve a more direct engagement with nature.

The first owner of the present work was William H. Fuller, the director of the National Wallpaper Company and a devoted collector of Monet's art. In 1891, Fuller organized the first exhibition of the artist's paintings in the United States at the Union Club in New York, effectively introducing Monet to an American audience. Fuller purchased the picture from Durand-Ruel in 1886, the same time he acquired another work by Monet (W. 676, ex. Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art) from Durand-Ruel.   Through his promotion of the artist's work in the United States, Fuller came to know Monet during these years, and he expounded on the artist's talent in his introductory text for the Lotos Club exhibition catalogue:

"Every picture that Monet paints is distinguished, among other qualities, for its
pictorial unity. He sees nature synthetically; he paints it pictorially. Indeed, the true function of a landscape painter is to express the noble truths of nature, rather than to record the mere physical facts that he sees before him. This, at least, is Monet's method of interpretation. His landscapes, therefore, possess the potent charm of simplicity and dignity unmarred by perplexing details. Nor is this pictorial quality the result of a lucky accident or a happy choice of subject. Nature never presents to an artist a perfectly completed picture, leaving to him the simple task of copying it on his canvas. The fund of material that she furnishes is exhaustless,
but the use which the artist makes of it determines the value of his performance. When Monet paints a landscape he keeps steadily in view the dominant motive of his picture, to which all minor details are made subordinate. These serve a useful part, it is true, but it is one of appropriate contribution to enhance the value of the work as a whole. To secure this result he knows what to leave out — a rare virtue in landscape art — as well as what to emphasize in his picture. This method of treatment involves an intelligent comprehension of his subject, an easy command of his brush, an orderly and artistic arrangement of the various parts of his picture, and calls into play one of the highest and most pleasurable functions of the human mind. In his early life, as he once remarked to me, he often completed a canvas at a single sitting; 'but now,' he modestly added, ' I am more exacting, and it takes a long time for me to finish a picture.'"

Sur la falaise à Pourville remained in Fuller’s collection until his death, and it was sold in his Estate sale in 1903 to Durand-Ruel in New York.  The dealer then sold the painting to Arthur B. Emmons, the East Coast collector, whose widow Julia bequeathed it, as well as Monet’s Vue de Vétheuil, to the Metropolitan Museum in 1956.