In 1888, Claude Monet bought a house on two acres and called it Giverny. He became passionate about nature, and his style of impressionism evolved to show it. The house and gardens are now a must-see tourist destination for a visit to France.

Born in Paris, but rejected by the artists of his time, he searched to find himself in many countries, including serving in the French Foreign Legion.

In this presentation, we will look at his life and love of nature. He loved nature so much that he developed a floating art gallery in a boat to be able to paint nature in its own setting- not from a studio in a house.

When the instructor visited Spain, her bus stopped on a pinnacle overlooking the city of Toledo, Spain. She was told this view is the inspiration of one of the most famous landscape paintings of all times- View over Toledo.

It was then inspiring to visit the Museum and see this painting- by a Greek with a very long name. His comrades shortened it to El Greco- meaning "the Greek."

Born on the Isle of Crete, which was ruled by Venice, he made his way to Spain and claimed Toledo as his hometown. There, he developed a unique style of expressionism and cubism.

Evelyn Kelly stood in an unimpressive bedroom in Arles, France and noted a rickety bed, an old chair, and other items. This is the setting of one of Van Gogh's most well-known paintings- The Bedroom. It sold recently for $6 million.

She later climbed up a hill to his grave site. So who was this man who never sold a painting in his life and committed suicide at the age of 37? We will look at the life of this unhappy boy- the son of a Dutch minister and minister himself- as he creates 2100 drawings and 860 oil paintings.

The instructor's favorite painting is "The Starry Night." As she present several to you, you may see others that will become your favorite.

A woman painter in 1868? No way! Mary, the daughter of a wealthy banker, enrolled in the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and was disgusted with the narrow-mindedness and nastiness of the male students and faculty. Even her own father said he would rather see her dead than become an artist.

So she left her native Pennsylvania and moved to Pairs. Her first painting, The Mandolin Player, was shown in a prestigious salon and caught the eye of Edgar Degas. He influenced her into trying the new and exciting style of impressionism.

Mary holds a unique place among American artists both as a female painter and impressionist.

Sometimes, a painting will evoke emotions and strong responses. That is the way the instructor felt when she presented the painting Guernica to a group of students.

The painting in black and white depicts the aftermath of the Nazi bombing of the town Guernica, Spain in 1937. The students and instructor became engrossed in this work- that is probably the most famous painting in the world. So in this session we will look at the life of Picasso- whose father was also a painter and artist. Pablo's first words were "piz piz"- he wanted a pencil (in Spanish lapiz means "pencil") to draw.

You will not want to miss this fascinating story of two people, both very strong characters and outstanding artists. Many of Frida's paintings are autobiographical expressing her pain and mixed emotions. She fell in love with Diego Rivera, a painter 20 years her elder and their relationship was unstable- to say the least. Diego was influenced by Picasso, Monet, and Gauguin. He is well known for his marvelous murals.