Claude Monet (1840–1926) devoted much of his life to the study of nature and light in his paintings. A pioneer of the French impressionist movement, Monet painted in short, textured brushstrokes, lending a sense of movement to his subjects.

The four oil paintings from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, collected on these keepsake boxed notecards were created across a quarter century of Monet’s career. His love for making nature the subject of his paintings—particularly gardens, which he planted wherever he lived—remained a constant thread throughout his life.