Claude Monet's Haystacks, midday is heading to Geelong Gallery for two years.
Geelong Gallery scores a major coup with Claude Monet’s Haystacks, midday on loan from the National Gallery of Australia.
Part of the National Gallery’s Sharing the National Collection initiative, the 1890 masterpiece arrives for a two-year display period starting 21 November. Claude Monet’s Haystacks, midday gives regional audiences a rare chance to experience one of art history’s most influential painters without heading to Canberra.
Timing couldn’t be better. As Geelong Gallery approaches its 130th anniversary in 2026, the arrival of Monet’s work mirrors the gallery’s own founding story. Back in 1890, the same year Monet painted his haystacks series, the gallery’s very first acquisition was Frederick McCubbin’s A Bush Burial, purchased through public subscription. McCubbin helped establish the Heidelberg School of Australian Impressionism, drawing direct inspiration from French Impressionists like Monet.
Claude Monet Haystacks, midday at Geelong Gallery
- Where: Geelong Gallery, 55 Little Malop Street, Geelong
- When: 21 November 2025 for two years
- Cost: Free entry
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Monet painted these haystacks at least 25 times between late summer 1890 and winter 1891. Standing in a field behind his newly purchased home at Giverny, a village 60 kilometres from central Paris, the tightly thatched wheat stacks became his obsession. But it wasn’t the stacks themselves that fascinated him; it was the constantly changing effects of light.
His dilemma was real: the more he focused on capturing fleeting atmospheric moments, the longer and more complex his painting process became. Each canvas in the series documents different times of day and weather conditions, showing how the same simple subject could be endlessly transformed by light.
Haystacks, midday captures the wheat stacks at their most dramatic, bathed in strong midday sun. Monet’s thick, visible brushstrokes and vibrant colour palette showcase why French Impressionism revolutionised painting and influenced artists worldwide, including Australia’s Heidelberg School painters.
This loan comes through the Australian Government’s Sharing the National Collection program, supported by Federal Minister for the Arts Tony Burke and National Gallery Director Dr Nick Mitzevich. For two years, Victorians won’t need to travel to Canberra to stand in front of one of the most recognisable paintings in art history.
Geelong Gallery Director & CEO Humphrey Clegg noted the significance of bringing Monet to Geelong as the gallery celebrates 130 years, encouraging all Victorians to experience this iconic work that inspired Australian artists over a century ago.
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