Signed and dated 1909 lower right
Artists label from Giverny on verso
New York adress written by hand for storing or exhibition on the stretcher
Oil on canvas
32 1/8 x 32 1/8 in.
81,5 x 81,5 cm
Patrick Weil Bertrand, Oakland/California has kindly confirmed the authenticity and will include the painting in his forthcoming Catalogue raisonné.
Price upon request
Two other versions of this subject are known.
One with similar size is holding since 1991 by the Musée de Vernon. A smaller version in the collection of the University of New Mexico, USA.
Highly important atmospheric painting by famous franco-american impressionist painter Theodore Earl Butler, signed and dated lower right.
Butler then moved to study in Paris.
He enrolled at La Grande-Chaumière, Atelier Colarossi and at Académie Julian. Soon, Butler received recognition from the Paris Salon, garnering an honorable mention in 1888 for his painting La Veuve (The Widow). That same year he visited Giverny for the first time; he settled in the quiet village in 1892, becoming part of a vital art community.
After becoming close friend with Claude Monet, Butler married Monet's stepdaughter, Suzanne Hoschedé in 1892. Suzanne is known as The woman with a Parasol and she was Claude Monet's favorite model. After a lingering illness, Suzanne Hoschede died in 1899. Thereafter most of Butler’s paintings were landscapes.
Marthe Hoschede, Suzanne's sister helped Butler raise the children Jimmy and Lilly. In 1899 Theodore Earl Butler decided to go back to the United States. He had several one man shows in New York. He exhibited in 1900, at Paul Durand-Ruel gallery in New York. After six months he was back in Giverny. He married Marthe Hoschedé, Suzanne's sister in 1900.
Marriages to Claude Monet's two step daughters brought him closer to Monet than any other of the American expatriates. Blanche Hoschedé Monet, John Singer Sargent, and James P. Butler, Theodore's son, were the only other painters who ever painted in Claude Monet’s garden.
The Butler family and the Rose family, Ethel and Guy Rose, spent a lot of time together. They rented during the summer time houses in Veules les Roses.
He was also a close friend of Philip Hale, John Singer Sargent, and Maximilien Luce.
In 1913, the Butler family moved to New York when Butler got a commission to paint mural panels for the home of William Paine. The breakout of World War I prevented Butler from returning to Giverny until 1921.
Butler died at Giverny on May 2, 1936.