She painted beside Monet, studied under him, and preserved his legacy — yet history nearly forgot her. Blanche Hoschedé-Monet is finally getting the recognition she’s long deserved. For years, art history has remembered Claude Monet as the quintessential Impressionist painter, producing masterful pieces of water lilies, haystacks, and misty mornings. Alongside him was Blanche Hoschedé-Monet, his talented step-daughter who has been long overshadowed by her mentor. Blanche has now finally received some long-overdue recognition for her amazing contributions to art.
A new exhibition, Blanche Hoschedé-Monet in the Light, has recently opened at Indiana University’s Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, which marks her first major solo showing of her work in the United States. The exhibition features 40 paintings, partnered with photographs, letters, and sketchbooks, casting a new light on the woman who has remained in Monet’s shadow for too long.
Ernest Hoschedé, Blanche’s father and a wealthy art collector, was one of Monet’s earliest patrons. Blanche first met her mentor at age 11, when he was commissioned to paint a series of panels for her family’s estate. After facing financial hardship, Blanche and her family moved in with Monet and Camille, his ailing wife. Following Camille’s death in 1879 and Ernest’s in 1892, Blanche’s mother, Alice, married Monet.
Living under the same roof as the Impressionist icon, Blanche grew up immersed in art. Encouraged by Monet, Blanche began seriously painting as a teenager. She not only assisted him, but also produced her own paintings, many of which echoed some of his favorite subjects.
Despite her talent, many of Blanche’s works have remained excluded from major public collections. In the United States, only one of her works resides in a public museum. However, interest in these paintings is growing. Recently, curators and collectors have begun to re-evaluate her place in art history.
Though Impressionism faded from the avant-garde in the mid-20th century, Blanche Hoschedé-Monet remained faithful to its ideals. Today, as her paintings gain the attention they deserve, her legacy is no longer just a footnote to Monet’s — it is a story of dedication, resilience, and rediscovery.
“Without her,” wrote art dealer René Gimpel, “Claude Monet would have lived in an isolation that would have killed him. It was she who kept him alive for us. Posterity must not forget her.”
