By DARLA MCCAMMON
Lakeland Art Association

WARSAW — We cannot let a series of “Spring Flowers by the Masters” go by without introducing you (tongue in cheek) to our most prolific spring flower: the dandelion. The dandelion is a flower loved by some, eaten in salad by many, and hated by most gardeners.

Although some might disagree, it was listed as a “flower” genre painting when I searched for it! This painting (photo provided) size 22 inches by 32 inches was done by Claude Monet and is titled “Dandelions”

It is an oil painting and when discovered, it was labeled with this note: “From the collection of Ilya Ehrenburg.”  Ehrenburg was a very famous author from the Soviet Union. He was an extremely controversial figure and wrote over a hundred different books.

He was also well- known as a journalist. Prior to that, not much is known about this Monet painting except that it was in a private collection of a still undisclosed collector. It had never been exhibited in public before 1953 when it came to the attention of the art world.

This painting was then sold in an auction in the Ukraine on Oct. 29, 2011. Oh, the price?  It sold for a paltry $6 million. That buyer remains anonymous.

Oscar-Claude Monet was born Nov. 14, 1840 and died Dec. 5, 1926 in Giverny, France. He is often considered the founder of the impressionist movement, although if you have noticed in our spring flower series, you have heard others such as Morisot and Manet being credited with that distinction.

Monet’s early life was in a modest income family. When his mother died, he was still a young man, so he was sent to live with a widowed childless aunt who gave him a great deal of support. He eventually married one of his models, Camille Doncieux but they lived in much poverty while raising their first child.

Some of his paintings were also seized by creditors during this time and they had to move to England in 1870 due to the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War. He took the opportunity to study the works of Constable and Turner while in England.

Returning to Paris, Monet eschewed the Académie des Beaux-Arts at the annual Salon de Paris and created many independent exhibitions with fellow artists of similar bent in their work. Monet eventually became friends with other like-minded artists and adopted the name “the impressionists” turning a piece of negative publicity to their benefit.

Along with his friends: Renoir, Morisot, Degas, Pissarro, Cezanne, and Guillaumin, the first impressionist exhibition was formed in Paris and held for a month in 1874.

The rest is history—the impressionist movement is still highly regarded today as one of the greatest art periods ever developed and the artists of that movement are extremely well recognized today.  Even those who painted the lowly dandelion

CHECK THESE OUT — Upcoming and Current Events:

•NEW Exhibit of more Senior Art Student work from Grace College at Warsaw City Hall. 8am-4pm daily.

•LAA spring art show competition is available for viewing beginning May 4, at 302 E. Winona Ave. Warsaw.

•Fourth Monday of each month, visit the new LAA Gallery in the evening for special programs. Call (574) 267-5568 (note phone change) for dates, subject of the program, and times,

•2016 Honeywell Clark Gallery accepting entries from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.Tuesday,  June 7, for themed Art competition. Theme:  Indiana Bicentennial.

•Don’t forget to pick up your May free issue of “glo” magazine to view the cover created by your author, Darla McCammon. Inside this issue a bit about Darla as well. At your market now.

•Contact your author/artist Darla McCammon at email: [email protected]. Or web site at
www.darlamc.com.