Water Lilies, 1906

This canvas

Oil on canvas, nearly square — about 35⅜ × 37 in in Chicago (89.9 × 94.1 cm). It belongs to the 1903–08 group, after Monet stopped painting the Japanese bridge as the main subject and started treating the pond as a field. Technical study of this painting shows he kept changing it while he worked. He called these surfaces an obsession.

Presh prints from the museum’s CC0 file for artwork 16568. Soft blues, olive pads, silver flickers. Squares (12×12, 20×20, 30×30) sit close to how the painting hangs: a still field, not a window onto a garden path.

Which Water Lilies

This is the 1906 open-water painting in Chicago (Ryerson Collection, Gallery 243 when on view). It is not the Japanese bridge views, not the Orangerie murals, and not MoMA’s triptych. The bridge views are a different canvas.

Sizes vs the original

The Chicago canvas is smaller than many people expect — roughly a meter on the long side. Our squares are honest about that:

• 12×12 about a third of the painting’s height — desk, shelf, small wall
• 20×20 about half — the default for most rooms
• 30×30 close to three-quarters — when the wall can take a square of color at arm’s length

Paper & ship

Archival matte fine art paper, no bleed — so the lily clusters at the edges stay intact. No glossy glare over the blues. Made to order, rolled in a tube. Pale wood or white frames keep a museum-shop quiet. Or leave the sheet flat until the wall is ready.

How it got to Chicago

Shown at Durand-Ruel in 1909 as part of “Série 1906.” Sold that year to Henri Bernstein. Martin A. Ryerson bought it in New York in 1914 for $5,000. Bequeathed to the Art Institute in 1933. Cover image for Monet and Chicago (2020–21).

Why this print

Museum-shop cardstock of this image often ships as an 11×14 sheet with a small image area. Boutique poster sites blur which Water Lilies you get, or crop a near-square painting to a landscape. Here the file is named (AIC 16568), the squares stay near the true ratio, and the paper is archival matte for the wall — not a souvenir flat. You’re paying for print craft; the image itself is public domain.

Quick answers

Is this the Orangerie Water Lilies? No. Those are the late mural panels in Paris. This is a single 1906 easel painting in Chicago.

Why nearly square? Monet’s pond canvases from this group sit close to square. Our 12 / 20 / 30 inch squares follow that format instead of forcing a poster crop.

Where is the original? Art Institute of Chicago, accession 1933.1157, often Gallery 243. Audio stop 970 on the museum’s page.

Is the image public domain? Yes — CC0 via the Art Institute’s open access. Image courtesy of the museum; the museum does not endorse this shop.