Description

Claude Monet painted the customs house at Varengeville, on the Normandy coast of France, four times in 1882 and four more times in 1897. On each occasion he chose a similar vantage looking down on the small structure, which appears to grow out of the cliffside. The dimensions of this version are nearly identical to those of the other three canvases from the second visit. Here, Monet increased the amount of white in his paints to capture more nuanced atmospheric effects. He also experimented with techniques to animate the surface, at times scraping down or wiping away the still-soft paint to expose underlying colors. In the water, for example, breaks in the pale-gray paint reveal a bright green beneath, which the artist accentuated with additional touches of a similar green on top.

Provenance

The artist (d. 1926); sold to Galerie Allard et Noel, Feb. 1899, for 6,000 francs [per Monet’s livre de comptes, ventes janvier–juillet 1899, photocopy of this page in curatorial object file]. Maurice Masson, Paris, by Feb. 27, 1911 [per Bernheim-Jeune, exh. cat., 1911]; sold at the Maurice Masson, Paris, sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, June 22, 1911, lot 23, to Durand-Ruel, Paris, for 9,020 francs [per Hôtel Drouot, sale cat., June 22, 1911; see also Durand-Ruel, Paris, stock book for 1901–13 (no. 9648, as La cabane du douanier), as confirmed by Paul-Louis Durand-Ruel and Flavie Durand-Ruel, Durand-Ruel Archives, to the Art Institute of Chicago, Feb. 5, 2013, curatorial object file]; sold to Durand-Ruel, New York, July 21, 1913 or Aug. 6, 1913 [The Paris and New York Durand-Ruel stock books record different dates for the sale: The Paris stock book for 1901–13 (no. 9648, as La cabane du douanier) states: “Sold to DR New York on 21 July 1913.” The New York stock book for 1904–24 (no. 3668, as La cabane de douaniers) states: “Purchased by DR New York on 6 August 1913 as La cabane de douaniers.” As confirmed by Paul-Louis Durand-Ruel and Flavie Durand-Ruel, Durand-Ruel Archives, to the Art Institute of Chicago, Feb. 5, 2013, curatorial object file]; sold to Martin A. Ryerson (d. 1932), Chicago, Feb. 10, 1914 for $7,500 [per Durand-Ruel, New York, stock book for 1904–24 (no. 3668, as La cabane de douaniers), as confirmed by Paul-Louis Durand-Ruel and Flavie Durand-Ruel, Durand-Ruel Archives, to the Art Institute of Chicago, Feb. 5, 2013; see also purchase receipt on Durand-Ruel letterhead, dated February 10, 1914, detailing that this painting (no. 3668, Monet, La cabane de douaniers, 1897) was acquired by M. A. Ryerson, in addition to two other paintings (no. 3646, Monet, Waterloo Bridge, London, 1903) (cat. 39 [W1586]); and no. 3768, Monet, Les nymphéas, paysage d’eau, 1906 (cat. 44 [W1683]) for $20,000, photocopy in curatorial object file]; bequeathed to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1933.