Associated as much with the inspiration for his art as with his many paintings, Claude Monet is considered by many to be the foremost, as well as the founding, member of the Impressionist school of painting. Concerned with the play of light on the landscape, Monet's works exhibited new uses of both color and brush technique that were considered revolutionary within the art establishment of his day. Today he is best known for the series of "Water Lilies" paintings that he completed later in his life; his gardens in the French town of Giverny have also sparked a great deal of interest among horticulturalists and garden designers due to their sophisticated use of color. As the painter Cezanne is reported to have said, "Monet is only an eye, but, my God, what an eye!"

Monet was born in Paris, France, in November of 1840. The son of a grocer...