113 - MONET, Claude (1840–1926).

MONET, Claude (1840–1926). Autograph letter signed “Claude Monet,” Giverny, December 4, 1907, to a friend [Georges CLEMENCEAU?]; 4 pages, in-8 format, in violet ink, with a letterhead reading “Giverny by Vernon, Eure.” Regarding the government’s purchase of his painting *The Rouen Cathedral: The Portal Seen from the Front*. Note: While he is very honored to have a painting acquired by the government, he complains “about the administration’s conduct.” Following instructions received from Mr. Dujardin-Beaumetz, he had the painting delivered to the Grand Palais: “I naturally assumed that as soon as the painting arrived safely, I would be notified. But no—and yet there is no shortage of staff in this administration. I was very anxious, as you can imagine, not knowing whether my shipment had been lost or not, I had to write again to the Under-Secretary of State, and it was only after a dozen days that I was reassured by a note from him, telling me that he had seen and admired the painting; there was no mention of payment. I am well aware that at the Beaux-Arts, artists are generally expected to solicit and beg for purchases, commissions, and the like. but since that is not the case for me and I have no intention of taking steps to resolve this matter, I am writing to ask you, my dear friend (since it was through your intermediary that this came about), to please give me a little inside information and tell me how to proceed. All of this is between us, of course; I’m simply asking you how to avoid making a mistake and get what’s owed to me.” He points out that he “did indeed pay 13,000 francs out of my own pocket to purchase this painting, which I am selling to the government for 10,500—a price far lower than what dealers would pay me, which is why I find the administration’s tactics rather peculiar”…