Monet Letters Sell for $1.7M

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A collection of about 1,000 letters to French impressionist painter Claude Monet from his friends and admirers fetched more than $1 million at an auction on Dec. 13, Artcurial auction house said.

The letters sold for $1.7 million—more than double the estimated price.

The letters, which date from 1874 until the artist's death in 1926, offer an intimate glimpse into a close circle of artists: Many are by Monet's fellow impressionist painters, including Edouard Manet, Paul Cezanne, Edgar Degas, Alfred Sisley and Mary Cassatt. Others were written by sculptor Pierre-Auguste Renoir and writer Guy de Maupassant.

Monet carefully preserved the letters, and they became a family treasure, passed down through generations. The painter's great-grandson Michel Cornebois—Monet's sole direct descendent—turned them over to the auction house.

Nearly 95 percent of the 332 lots in the auction were sold, Artcurial said. An American bidder snapped up 13 out of 15 lots of letters by American artist John Singer Sargent. Paris' impressionist museum, the Musee d'Orsay, bought the other two. Another American paid $19,560 for a letter by Rodin in which the sculptor mentions The Thinker, one of his most famous pieces.

Besides the letters, the collection also included some jottings by Monet and a few photos, including one of the painter by French photographer Nadar.

Much of the correspondence from Monet's fellow painters shows their fascination and admiration for Monet's work. Monet was at the center of the impressionist circle, and his painting, Impression, Sunrise, gave the movement its name.

Copyright 2006 Associated Press