Over the course of 10 years and until his death in 1926 at 86 years, Claude Monet painted the Agapanthus triptych, enriching the paintings with velvety blue waters and thick globs of pigment from which lily blossoms emerged. The large scale (14 by 7 feet) paintings remained in his Giverny studio until the mid 1950′s when they were acquired and exhibited by New York art dealer, Knoedler and Company. Between 1956 and 1960, the panels were sold to three different American museums.

They’ve been reunited only three times since their separation, in 1978 and 1980, and then again for this year for the traveling exhibition, Monet’s Water Lilies.

These nine banners are a cropped portion of the triptych and were displayed throughout Saint Louis to stunning effect.