A WORLD renowned work of art created by one of the masters of painting natural light has gone on show at Abbot Hall.

Art lovers have descended on the Kendal gallery in droves to see Claude Monet’s Haystacks: Snow Effect, which will displayed until April 28.

The painting, from 1891, forms part a series of work widely regarded as among the French Impressionist’s best and on loan to the highly thought of Lakeland Arts- owned gallery from the National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh.

Sir Alexander Maitland bequeathed the work to NGS in 1965.

Monet, a founder of French Impressionist painting and arguably the most consistent and prolific plein-air practitioner of the movement's philosophy, produced more than 30 haystacks paintings, working at different times of day and season to capture the changing light on their form.

Head of the curatorial team for Lakeland Arts, Kerri Offord, said it was "fantastic" to have a work of such significance which borders on the abstract before abstract was actually invented.

From 1883 Monet lived in Giverny, France, where he bought a house and began a vast landscaping project that included lily ponds that would become the centrepiece of his most famous works. In 1899 he began painting the water lilies, first in vertical views featuring a Japanese bridge and later in the series of large-scale paintings that was to occupy him continuously for the next 20 years of his life.

The haystacks captured by Monet stood in a field near to his house. In autumn and the relatively mild winter of 1890, Monet persuaded the local farmer to leave the stacks in his field so he could make a series of paintings. In Haystacks: Snow Effect the haystacks are almost reduced to shadow in the glowing winter light.

There are 25 paintings from Monet’s Haystacks series held at galleries around the globe including Tokyo, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Paris - and now Kendal.

Director of Lakeland Arts, Gordon Watson said that to have a Monet on show is a major coup for Abbot Hall and its visitors. He added: "It is also a great news for Cumbria. The Haystacks series of works are among his most famous. We are delighted that Cumbrian people will get a chance to see such an important painting right here in Kendal.

“It’s also feels quite apt to be able to show off Haystacks: Snow Effect in a rural location during winter. And the work will be with us during the transition to spring. I think Monet would approve.”

Monet's highly regarded painting opens this year's Lakeland Arts exciting programme of exhibitions, displays and events, which also features high profile artists such as Grayson Perry and Elisabeth Frink.

For further details of the 2018 programme see the Weekend section of this week's Westmorland Gazette.