In the ``First Impressions'' series, an excellent introduction to the best loved and most prolific Impressionist. The journalist author focuses on Monet's development as an artist and the lack of recognition and financial troubles that dogged the first half of his 80 years--when he was 37, his evocative image of a train in La Gare St. Lazare caused a furor: ``A critic said that Monet was trying to make his viewers feel the way travelers did.'' What happened to the man is only outlined--his family's insistence on traditional training in art, Monet's marriages, children, friends, infirmities; and the whys remain a mystery--why did he antagonize his family and lose its support by living unwed with a woman he loved and later married? Why did his good friend Bazille fail to send money he owed Monet when Monet was desperate? There are a few revealing glimpses: e.g., Waldron remarks near the end that Monet had such a terrible temper that he once, in a fit of pique, gave up painting on Saturday, discarded his palette and brushes--then had to beg a supplier to send him new supplies on a Sunday. Still, the art is the important thing, and its genesis is intelligently presented: Monet's evolving concerns with light, color, and subject are discussed in the context of the art world of his time. The many reproductions are well placed and chosen, including informal paintings of Monet by such friends as Renoir and Manet. List of paintings and photos; index. (Nonfiction. 10+)

Gr 8 Up-- In an attractive style that is heavy with anecdote and details of financial problems and family togetherness, Waldron discusses Monet's artistic growth as well as the development of impressionism. A wide range of full-color reproductions helps create an understanding of the manner in which the paints were applied to surfaces. Of course the scale is missing so that the full impact of these paintings is lost, but they serve admirably to illustrate the text's claims and interpretations and to demonstrate Monet's continuing love affair with the infinite ways in which light shapes our perceptions of the world. Despite the huge number of books on impressionism available, this version of one artist's struggle to maintain his integrity and to sharpen his vision is useful, particularly for those seeking a pleasant literary introduction to that bit of art history. --Kenneth Marantz, Art Education Department, Ohio State University, Columbus (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

This fascinating, probing biography follows the pioneer Impressionist through desperate poverty, ridicule from critics, a remarkable company of contemporary artists, and, predominantly, his art. Motif and effect dominated his painting, and his enthrallment with the outdoors is evident in his precise rendering of light and shadow on poplars, water lilies, haystacks, and his wondrous gardens at Giverny. Ind. From HORN BOOK 1991, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.