WHAT?  Jean-Marie Toulgouat: Gardening Giverny

WHERE? Garden Museum, Lambeth Palace Road, London SE1 7LB

WHEN? Now until 24th April 

WHY GO? For garden inspiration.  It’s the 150th Anniversary year of the First Impressionist Exhibition and who better than Monet and his glorious garden Giverny to honour, undoubtedly the most famous artist’s garden in horticultural history, immortalised in so many of his paintings. 

This joyful little exhibition centres on the man who helped restore Giverny when it had been long neglected throughout the Sixties.

Jean-Marie Toulgouat was Monet’s great-grandson by marriage and the exhibition offers a glimpse into his world which was steeped in art, horticulture and history.

Toulgouat was born, grew up and died at Giverny in 2006.  

He played in the bucolic gardens as a child, surrounded by masterpieces in Monet’s old house and studio, eventually becoming an artist himself after originally practicing as a landscape architect. 

The lure of the Giverny he remembered as a child was charismatic ,and these very personal abstract paintings capture the spirit of the beautiful family garden he knew so well.

The esteemed garden photographer Andrew Lawson’s images of Giverny are pictured alongside the paintings and trace the garden’s restoration. 

IN THE KNOW  In conjunction with the exhibition, David Messum Fine Art, who represents the estate of Jean-Marie Toulgouat are exhibiting a collection of his newly rediscovered paintings.

If you want to dig deep and feel a connection with Giverny, paintings are for sale.  That's if you’ve got £7,850 to spare!