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Who Was . . . ? Series
Who Was Claude Monet?
Claude Monet is considered one of the most influential artists of all time. He is a founder of the French Impressionist art movement, and today his paintings sell for millions of dollars. While Monet was alive, however, his work was often criticized and he struggled financially. With over one hundred black-and-white illustrations, this book unveils a true portrait of the artist!
112 pages, Paperback
First published July 23, 2009
76 people are currently reading
603 people want to read
About the author
Ann Waldron
22 books18 followersAnn Waldron was born in Birmingham, Alabama and grew up on Cotton Avenue in West End. She went to Hemphill Grammar School and West End High School. She and her parents and older sister lived three blocks from the Vine Street Presbyterian Church, which they attended twice every Sunday and on Wednesday nights for prayer meeting. They spent summers on an 80-acre farm her parents owned in St. Clair County, near Cook Springs.
Ann was co-editor of her high school newspaper (the principal decreed that, although she was able enough, she was too much of a discipline problem to be the editor in chief). She did become editor of the Crimson-White, the student newspaper at the University of Alabama, from which she graduated in 1945. She attended Hudson Strode's creative writing class at the university and appeared in Blackfriars plays.
Her first job was with the Atlanta Constitution, where she was a reporter for two and a half years. It was there that she met her husband, Martin Waldron, who was then a student at Georgia Tech and who happened to see an advertisement for a copy boy's job on a bulletin board at Tech. He applied, got the job, and never looked back. He realized that he was destined to be a newspaper reporter, not an engineer, and he dropped out of Tech.
Martin later finished college at Birmingham-Southern while he worked for the Birmingham Post-Herald. Ann worked on The Progressive Farmer magazine. When Martin was hired by the Tampa Tribune the Waldrons, with their two children, Peter and Lolly, moved to Florida, where Martin first covered the citrus industry in Lakeland, and then the state capitol in Tallahassee.
The women's editor of the Tribune, knowing of Ann's journalistic experience, asked her to write a weekly feature on women in state government. By now there were two more children--Thomas William and Boojie (real name Martin Oliver Waldron III)--but she managed the one-day-a-week job happily. In fact, when she was in the hospital once, Martin wrote her column for her.
In 1960, the St. Petersburg Times hired both of them, but let them stay in Tallahassee. Martin led the team that did the series of stories exposing corruption in the management of the Florida Turnpike Authority that won the Times a Pulitzer Prize for Community Service.
Ann's column was still appearing in both the Times and the Miami Herald in 1965 when the New York Times hired Martin to open a bureau in Houston, Texas. The Waldrons moved to Houston, where Ann became book editor of the Houston Chronicle, and began writing children's books.
In 1975, the Times transferred Martin to New York and the Waldrons settled in Princeton. "We looked at suburbs on Long Island, Westchester County, Monclair, Red Bank, and Princeton, and we loved Princeton," Ann said. She took classes at Princeton University and went to work there as the associate editor of a quarterly magazine, University. She continued to write children's books, published six novels for young people, and wrote a book about art forgeries.
In 1981, Martin died, and Ann went to work fulltime for Princeton as the editor of its Campaign Bulletin. Children's books no longer held the same fascination for her--she wanted to do something different, and settled on a biography of Caroline Gordon. Biography seemed to be the ideal kind of book for her, since she could use research skills learne din journalism and bring people to life using some of the techniques of fiction I had learned. "Princeton University was an immensely helpful employer," she said. "My boss gave me every Wednesday afternoon off so I could do research in the library where Caroline Gordon's papers were held. Often in my travels for the Campaign Bulletin, I could do an interview for the biography as well."
http://www.annwaldron.com/bio.htm
Ann was co-editor of her high school newspaper (the principal decreed that, although she was able enough, she was too much of a discipline problem to be the editor in chief). She did become editor of the Crimson-White, the student newspaper at the University of Alabama, from which she graduated in 1945. She attended Hudson Strode's creative writing class at the university and appeared in Blackfriars plays.
Her first job was with the Atlanta Constitution, where she was a reporter for two and a half years. It was there that she met her husband, Martin Waldron, who was then a student at Georgia Tech and who happened to see an advertisement for a copy boy's job on a bulletin board at Tech. He applied, got the job, and never looked back. He realized that he was destined to be a newspaper reporter, not an engineer, and he dropped out of Tech.
Martin later finished college at Birmingham-Southern while he worked for the Birmingham Post-Herald. Ann worked on The Progressive Farmer magazine. When Martin was hired by the Tampa Tribune the Waldrons, with their two children, Peter and Lolly, moved to Florida, where Martin first covered the citrus industry in Lakeland, and then the state capitol in Tallahassee.
The women's editor of the Tribune, knowing of Ann's journalistic experience, asked her to write a weekly feature on women in state government. By now there were two more children--Thomas William and Boojie (real name Martin Oliver Waldron III)--but she managed the one-day-a-week job happily. In fact, when she was in the hospital once, Martin wrote her column for her.
In 1960, the St. Petersburg Times hired both of them, but let them stay in Tallahassee. Martin led the team that did the series of stories exposing corruption in the management of the Florida Turnpike Authority that won the Times a Pulitzer Prize for Community Service.
Ann's column was still appearing in both the Times and the Miami Herald in 1965 when the New York Times hired Martin to open a bureau in Houston, Texas. The Waldrons moved to Houston, where Ann became book editor of the Houston Chronicle, and began writing children's books.
In 1975, the Times transferred Martin to New York and the Waldrons settled in Princeton. "We looked at suburbs on Long Island, Westchester County, Monclair, Red Bank, and Princeton, and we loved Princeton," Ann said. She took classes at Princeton University and went to work there as the associate editor of a quarterly magazine, University. She continued to write children's books, published six novels for young people, and wrote a book about art forgeries.
In 1981, Martin died, and Ann went to work fulltime for Princeton as the editor of its Campaign Bulletin. Children's books no longer held the same fascination for her--she wanted to do something different, and settled on a biography of Caroline Gordon. Biography seemed to be the ideal kind of book for her, since she could use research skills learne din journalism and bring people to life using some of the techniques of fiction I had learned. "Princeton University was an immensely helpful employer," she said. "My boss gave me every Wednesday afternoon off so I could do research in the library where Caroline Gordon's papers were held. Often in my travels for the Campaign Bulletin, I could do an interview for the biography as well."
http://www.annwaldron.com/bio.htm
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews
August 13, 2018
I re-read this book along with the audiobook. This time I enjoyed much more than the first time that I read.
Read
October 2, 2023This was another family listen for Paris.
January 23, 2017
Who Was Claude Monet? by Ann Waldron is a good book about the artist. I love these history books and this one explains how the artist came to paint his unique style. It gets wrapped up a little too much in side issues near the end but it picks back up again.
June 29, 2020
Who was Claude Monet?
Claude Monet was one of the first impressionist painters. One of his early paintings was labeled a painting of impressions and in this way the label was born.
He had difficulty earning money for his art for much of his life.
The light in Paris wasn't good enough for Monet (!) and so he moved outside the city.
Lots of illustrations are on the pages of this book, a nice balance of text and illustrations, I think.
Claude Monet was one of the first impressionist painters. One of his early paintings was labeled a painting of impressions and in this way the label was born.
He had difficulty earning money for his art for much of his life.
The light in Paris wasn't good enough for Monet (!) and so he moved outside the city.
Lots of illustrations are on the pages of this book, a nice balance of text and illustrations, I think.
July 2, 2021
3.5 stars. I love Monet’s work, so I bought this book to learn more about him. I’ve gotta say, I wasn’t super impressed with this book. I would’ve liked it to get into more detail and be more specific about his work and his early life. I get like it went straight from him being born to him being in college.
August 8, 2022
I read it because my mom suggested and I thought it was going to be pretty interesting because he was an artist and I too want to become an artist when I grow up. After reading the book it was better than expected because he was poor, when he started painting and people liked it he became rich. I also liked that Monet did not think that all the fame belongs to him. I felt Monet was not selfish.
August 30, 2019
What a difficult life Mr. Monet lived but yet how inspiring his paintings have become. He outlived two wives and built one of the world's most admired gardens as well as numerous paintings. This was a very interesting book well worth the read.
July 19, 2018
This was the first book I've read in the very popular Who Was series. It was great! I read it aloud to my 4, 6 & 8 year olds. For a little book it was really packed with information but wasn't dry like some bios tend to be. We'll definitely read more in the series!
August 17, 2023
feeling educated
March 4, 2024
I have always loved Monet's work, especially "Woman with a Parasol" (1875)
and "Bridge Over a Pond of Water Lilies" (1899).
Fun Fact about the Woman with a Parasol painting. It's Monet's wife Camille Monet and their son Jean Monet.
and "Bridge Over a Pond of Water Lilies" (1899).
Fun Fact about the Woman with a Parasol painting. It's Monet's wife Camille Monet and their son Jean Monet.
May 3, 2018
it was good.
April 9, 2018
My kids really love this series of books. My son really wanted me to read this particular book so we could talk about it together. It was an interesting snapshot of Monet's life.
April 20, 2015
Claude Monet was an artist who enjoyed his own style of art that wasn't specific and that focused on how the lighting hit in the nature scene he was sitting in. But most artists' at that time were very specific and detailed when they painted. This caused everyone to hate Monet's artwork. When Monet held Impressionist show's with his artwork displayed, people hated it and there was even a person that had demanded for their money back. Even though there was so much hatred coming at his artwork, he wanted people to notice the amount of effort that it took, and how beautiful it was. He didn't care about the money. So he kept trying to paint more works of art in the same style without giving up. Was his art eventually recognized? "Who Was Claude Monet?" by Ann Waldron is about self determination, hope, acceptance, and respect.
June 24, 2016
This book is from a series that I really enjoy.
I really enjoyed this book, here is what I learned from it:
1. When he was younger he sketched silly drawings of his family and teachers, friends ect:)
2. Those sketches actually sold better then the paintings he drew when he grew up.
3. Claude married twice, his first wife died.
4. It wasn't actually his own idea to paint in the outdoors, his friend invited him to paint with him. At first he refused to come. In the end he did.
5. Just as he started to loose his sight, he painted a large room. (The whole thing!)
6. He painted a few large paintings of ladies outside.(They had to pose)
When he got older he moved into a house in the country. (It was really pretty)
READ THIS BOOK Review by Sarita
I really enjoyed this book, here is what I learned from it:
1. When he was younger he sketched silly drawings of his family and teachers, friends ect:)
2. Those sketches actually sold better then the paintings he drew when he grew up.
3. Claude married twice, his first wife died.
4. It wasn't actually his own idea to paint in the outdoors, his friend invited him to paint with him. At first he refused to come. In the end he did.
5. Just as he started to loose his sight, he painted a large room. (The whole thing!)
6. He painted a few large paintings of ladies outside.(They had to pose)
When he got older he moved into a house in the country. (It was really pretty)
READ THIS BOOK Review by Sarita
April 5, 2018
He showed a lot of perseverance.
May 2, 2017
I love the Who Was series. they are awesome easy reader biographies that are written in the same format every time which makes them more inviting to me. This one taught me things I had never known about Monet and also included some things that everyone should know about Monet. I give this one 5 Stars.
Grade Equivalent: 4.5
Lexile: 740L
Grade Equivalent: 4.5
Lexile: 740L
January 19, 2018
A very clear and succinct presentation of the artist's life, covering his impoverished beginnings, his two marriages, friendships with other Impressionists as Renoir, and Monet's evolution from mocked 'non-artist' who maligns beauty to world-renowned painter of nature and series such as Water Lilies, Rouen Cathedral, and Haystacks.
January 4, 2017
I love this series for kicking off homeschool unit studies. Most books are read aloud within 60-90 minutes, pictures interspersed. The stories always keep my 5&9 year olds attention. This was a good into on Monet, but plan to supplement with actual books with his paintings in them.
August 10, 2020
Great summary of Claude Monet's life and work, struggles and successes, and the birth of Impressionism.
I learned some things. Love these books!
I learned some things. Love these books!
May 17, 2019
With the passage of time, successive layers of interpretation accumulate around an artist's work. As a consequence of countless variables, the way we come to view their output is subjected to ceaseless change. As modern viewers who have learned to appreciate visually abstract works, we are able to recognize both the value of Monet's large murals as unsurpassable models of pure painting; we also recognize the degree to which this inimitable group of paintings is a truly unique creation in his oeuvre. Although Monet remained for many years pigeonholed as an "Impressionist" - and therefore relegated to the 19th century - this cycle of paintings from his last period is today considered one of the fundamental chapters in 20th century art.
Today no one questions the idea that the history of modern art begins with Impressionism. The Impressionists, who appeared on the stage in a rapidly changing world, aimed to transform the observation of nature into a new experience in the plastic arts. By substituting the natural world with a world of perception, they took a giant step forward in the history of Western painting and opened the way for a new tradition: the tradition of the new. Likewise, just as Impressionism was the first artistic movement that noted the difficulty with which art captured the changing conditions of reality, it was also the first movement to be aware of the flat surface of the canvas, precisely the two-dimensional quality of painting that abstract artists would later exploit. '
The very beginnings of Impressionism coincided with the first critical judgements levelled against illusionistic naturalism, and numerous arguments in favour of freeing painting from its mimetic shackles appeared. The fundamental idea of "fin de siècle" aesthetics was therefore the autonomy of the work of art: the possibility that, through creative freedom, it could transmit sensations from the real world without being subject to the dictates of accurate representation of appearances.
So what is the modern conception of pure art? It is the creation of an evocative magic, containing both object and subject, the world outside the artist and artist himself.
Today no one questions the idea that the history of modern art begins with Impressionism. The Impressionists, who appeared on the stage in a rapidly changing world, aimed to transform the observation of nature into a new experience in the plastic arts. By substituting the natural world with a world of perception, they took a giant step forward in the history of Western painting and opened the way for a new tradition: the tradition of the new. Likewise, just as Impressionism was the first artistic movement that noted the difficulty with which art captured the changing conditions of reality, it was also the first movement to be aware of the flat surface of the canvas, precisely the two-dimensional quality of painting that abstract artists would later exploit. '
The very beginnings of Impressionism coincided with the first critical judgements levelled against illusionistic naturalism, and numerous arguments in favour of freeing painting from its mimetic shackles appeared. The fundamental idea of "fin de siècle" aesthetics was therefore the autonomy of the work of art: the possibility that, through creative freedom, it could transmit sensations from the real world without being subject to the dictates of accurate representation of appearances.
So what is the modern conception of pure art? It is the creation of an evocative magic, containing both object and subject, the world outside the artist and artist himself.
December 2, 2018
When I visited his water-lily panels in Musee the Orangerie in Paris, I thought he was a very clever artist. Giving his work to the government is a good way to protect them and keep inspiring the millions from private collections. Another artist I admired in this regard is Rodin. Reading this little book, I was on a journey with Monet. It is very informative and short. He was a diligent worker. He worked during the day with a very regular routine. He was a excellent gardener but must be a boring person to live with. He planted for this drawing. He painted for what he planted. If for living, he had already proven be a capable bread earner in painting portraits with a cartoon touch in a very young age. He didn't pursue in this direction. He did what he's inspired. He moved to live near the subject of his painting. He repeatedly painted his subject while his family was far from enough. How far we can forgo for our inspiration?
Again, it shows to our children a success story. I like the length of the book, not too long to get bored and too short to be too brief.
Again, it shows to our children a success story. I like the length of the book, not too long to get bored and too short to be too brief.
December 30, 2023
There are good and bad with all these books. I know they were intended for children so they don’t always go into depth about marriages and children and such but I feel like when they gloss over facts like affairs it can be misleading. Not to say that Claude Monet or Jacques Cousteau are villains they definitely deserved to have there story told and made great contributions to the way our world works. I guess for me it’s hard to separate the works from the man so to speak. Since I am a woman’s I tend to be more sensitive to things like that. It makes one wonder if you can support someone’s work if they are different that what you’re expecting in their histories. But I guess what they say about never meeting your hero’s is true. And it’s not all black and white but that doesn’t mean people weren’t hurt because of choices they made in their own lives and I think that goes for everyone.
June 5, 2025
I learned...
Impressionism came right after oil paints were invented--that's the first time people had bright colors to work with.
Monet was one of the first people to paint outside instead of in a studio.
He painted the series of haystacks all at the same time: he would bring a wheelbarrow of canvases to the field and work on the first one in the morning light, then switch to the second canvas when the light changed, then move to another canvas when the light changed again. He worked on the same canvases at the same time every day until they were done.
Don't be fooled by his peaceful pictures--he had a terrible temper.
He bought more and more land to create the gardens of Giverny so he could paint them.
Impressionism came right after oil paints were invented--that's the first time people had bright colors to work with.
Monet was one of the first people to paint outside instead of in a studio.
He painted the series of haystacks all at the same time: he would bring a wheelbarrow of canvases to the field and work on the first one in the morning light, then switch to the second canvas when the light changed, then move to another canvas when the light changed again. He worked on the same canvases at the same time every day until they were done.
Don't be fooled by his peaceful pictures--he had a terrible temper.
He bought more and more land to create the gardens of Giverny so he could paint them.
August 5, 2025
Claude Monet was a pioneer of the Impressionist style of painting. Critics called his paintings Impressionist to mock them, but he appropriated the label. Now Monet is lauded by all critics and art historians, even ones who hate the modern and postmodern art descended from Impressionism.
Claude Monet was a virtuoso painter. Even though this biography of him is printed in black and white, so I cannot see the majesty of his use of color. Even though the color and lighting used in Monet’s paintings are the reason why he’s so good. I learned more of that aspect of Monet from other books.
Claude Monet was a virtuoso painter. Even though this biography of him is printed in black and white, so I cannot see the majesty of his use of color. Even though the color and lighting used in Monet’s paintings are the reason why he’s so good. I learned more of that aspect of Monet from other books.
August 17, 2025
The book was about a person who was named Claude Monet. Monet was a world famous artist, ever since he was a kid he wanted to paint. Monet was a kid who never wanted to go to school. When Monet was a kid he met Eugene Boudin, Eugene liked to paint landscapes [outdoors] like Monet many years after.
I like the book because Monet didn't care what others said about his paintings.
I recommend you to the book read it because it can show you to do what you think is right no matter what others say [but obey your parents].
I like the book because Monet didn't care what others said about his paintings.
I recommend you to the book read it because it can show you to do what you think is right no matter what others say [but obey your parents].
November 1, 2023
I think this is a great book for people ages 6-11. I thought it was very interesting! I love the WhoHQ books because you learn so much about something that you didn't know. I feel like I could write a whole book about Claude Monet! I loved learning that he was one of the first artists that painted their whole painting outside! Did you know that he was a soldier in Africa for nearly 2 years after he became a painter?
January 22, 2025
Clearly written for the middle-school aged audience, this book nevertheless gives a clear, succinct narrative of Monet's life and art even for the adult reader. Particularly suited for those visiting Giverny who would like an overview before the trip -- having been to Giverny, I would have appreciated reading this before my visit. Also includes a helpful timeline of his life compared to other well-known world events occurring at the same time.
February 15, 2020
I love this book series....easy to read....lots of good information. I really like Monet’s paintings from Giverny but was not aware of the wide range of his paintings. I found myself going to Google to check out the color paintings since those in the book are in black and white. Great little book.
April 3, 2022
I enjoyed reading this with M (6). As we read we looked up his paintings that were mentioned. It was a good brief biography that caught her attention although she did lose interest in the last couple chapters. There were a few things she didn’t pick up on but could have brought up curious questions about living together and having children before marriage.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews