In 1955 The Museum of Modern Art became the first public collection in the United States to acquire one of Claude Monet’s large-scale paintings of his Japanese-style pond and garden in Giverny, France. Today, works from this same series are among the most beloved pieces in the Museum’s collection. These include the mural-sized triptych Water Lilies (1914–26) and a single panel painting, Water Lilies (1914–26), as well as The Japanese Footbridge (c. 1920–22) and Agapanthus (1914–26), depicting the majestic plants in the pond’s vicinity.

This lively volume by Ann Temkin, the Chief Curator of Painting and Sculpture at MoMA, recounts the history of Monet’s Water Lilies at the Museum – including the destruction of two works in a fire in 1958 – and underscores the paintings’ resonance with the art and artists of the last half-century.