MONET CLAUDE: (1840-1926) Lot n° 1174

MONET CLAUDE: (1840-1926) French Impressionist painter. A.L.S., Claude Monet, three pages, 8vo, Giverny par Vernon, Eure, 6th July 1922, to a friend, in French. Monet apologises for the delay in thanking his correspondent for their volume and remarks ´me voilà bien vieux, et tout mon temps, je le consacre au travail bien que ma vue décline de jour en jour´ (Translation: ´I'm quite old now, and I spend all my time working, even though my eyesight is getting worse by the day´), further writing ´C’est bien gentil à vous de m’avoir adressé cette lettre mais sans doute ne serez-vous pas surpris de savoir qu’elle ne m’est parvenue que par votre livre. Nous sommes bien prêts l’un de l’autre et nous rencontrons moins souvent. C’est très bête. La vérité c’est que je suis désormais un vieillard et que je ne sors plus de chez moi´ (Translation: ´It is very kind of you to have sent me this letter, but no doubt you will not be surprised to know that it only reached me through your book. We are very close to each other and we meet less often. That's very silly. The truth is that I'm an old man now and don't go out of the house any more´). A moving letter written by Monet in the latter stage of his life, and serving as a reminder as to how important eyes are to a painter. The ink is a touch light in places although the letter remains perfectly legible. Some minor traces of former mounting to the verso, otherwise VG