The Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art will celebrate the return of its Claude Monet painting Thursday night.
The museum will hold “Discover Europe” as part of its bimonthly Museum Nights at 6 p.m.
The event will allow guests to see the “Champ d’avoine” (Oat Field), which the Harn loaned to the “Monet and American Impressionism” tour in May 2015 for eight months.
Michael A. Singer gave the painting to the museum as a gift in 1999.
The tour was organized by the Harn, Hunter Museum of American Art in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and the Telfair Museums in Savannah, Georgia, said Tami Wroath, the director of marketing and public relations for the Harn. Each museum displayed about 50 paintings and 20 prints in the exhibit for about three months.
The tour was free to make because each museum donated paintings and prints, she said.
Wroath said she’s glad to celebrate the return of the Monet on Thursday. Visitors often ask to see the painting, she said.
The event will feature classical music, Greek dancing, a photo booth with a background of Europe and European “Jeopardy,” where guests will answer trivia about European art, culture and history.
“It’s a perfect time to enjoy the European theme and rediscover the Monet back on display,” she said.
Mark Werner, a Gainesville resident and art enthusiast, said the Monet is one of the greatest works at the museum.
“It’s a rich painting with a masterful command of color and breathtaking shadows,” Werner said.
