Sotheby's New York. Monet's views of London painted in the first decade of this century are among the most popular of the series paintings to which he devoted most of his attention after 1900. Monet first visited London in 1870-71 when he fled Paris to avoid the Franco-Prussian war. He painted several views there but it was not until the end of 1899 that he embarked on an extended series of paintings that necessitated long visits to the capital. The first such stay took place in the autumn of 1899 and the artist set up his easels on the balcony of his room at the Savoy Hotel. This vantage point afforded him a view of both the Waterloo bridge to his left and the Charing Cross bridge with the Houses of Parliament in the distance to his right. During his last visit in 1901, Monet worked almost entirely on views of Waterloo Bridge. He was particularly absorbed by the dense atmosphere created by the combination of fog and industrial pollution caused by the smokestacks on the far bank. He loved London, much more than the countryside, as in his eyes it was a mass and an ensemble so simple. He also loved the fog and London in the winter for he thought that without the fog London would not be a beautiful city. Monet did not paint in London after 1901 although he continued to work on the London series in his studio at Giverny until April 1904. This painting was sold well over its estimate of between US $ 4 and 6 million.
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