Monet Paintings Bequeathed to The Art Institute of Chicago by Antiquarian Member Annie Swan Coburn
Annie Swann Coburn, 1930
Among the finest works in the Art Institute’s current exhibition MONET AND CHICAGO are paintings bequeathed to the museum by Antiquarian member Annie Swan Coburn. Following the death of her husband Lewis Larned Coburn, a noted Chicago patent attorney, Mrs. Coburn assembled a major art collection which also included works by such artists as Cezanne, Manet, Renoir, and Van Gogh.
In April 1932, under the auspices of the Antiquarian Society, the Art Institute mounted a large show of her holdings. To open this show the Antiquarians hosted a glorious reception, the tea tables decked out with masses of roses and pieces from Edith Rockefeller McCormick’s splendid Napoleon Borghese silver-gilt table service. Many of Mrs. Coburn’s fellow collectors were in attendance, including the seldom-seen Martin Ryerson who came out to congratulate her.
When she passed away just a few months later, her obituary in the New York Times made notice of the Antiquarians and that memorable party. Descriptive wall panels in the entrance to the present show feature three celebrated Chicago collectors - (both Mr. and Mrs.) Potter Palmer, Martin Ryerson, and “our” Annie Coburn, of whom Antiquarians are justly proud.
From the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Larned Coburn:
“Water Lily Pond,” 1900
Claude Monet, French, 1840-1926, Oil on canvas
Art Institute of Chicago, Painting and Sculpture of Europe, Regenstein Hall
“The Beach at Sainte-Adresse,” 1867
Claude Monet, French, 1840-1926, Oil on canvas
The Art Institute of Chicago, Painting of Sculpture of Europe, Regenstein Hall
