Claude Monet had 99 problems but laying the foundations for Impressionism ain't one.

Claude took seriously the idea of forging a new artistic path that irrevocably changed the world art scene. That is, he had a very high personal standard. He destroyed as many as 500 of his own paintings that simply didn't have the "it" factor. His preferred methods for disposing of inferior works were to burn, kick, and stab the pieces.

Monet and first wife Camille draft-dodged with their young child to London to avoid Monet's conscription in the Franco-Prussian War. This proved to be the smartest thing Monet ever did. Before moving to London, Monet and family lived in squalor. Hardly anyone wanted to buy his fuzzy haystacks or quivering water lilies. His father, disapproving of both Claude's marriage and career, cut him off. Claude had so many money problems, he tried drowning himself in the River Seine. But, in London, he met Paul Durand-Ruel. Claude's bank accounts grew flush as Durand-Ruel got Monet's work in galleries and private collections around the world.

While Camille was on her deathbed, Monet let the family of his friend Ernest Hoschede move into his home. Hoschede was in a financial bind and trying to evade his creditors. He got a job as a journalist in Paris and basically left his wife, Alice, and their kids in Monet's care. After Camille died, Monet decided to turn the domestic awkwardness up to 11 by rebounding with Alice Hoschede. Before rushing to judgment, know that Monet and Alice had the good decency to wait until Ernest died before they married.

Before croaking, Ernest lived permanently in Paris while Monet had his quasi-gentleman's intermission with Alice. One can presume questions about how Monet and Alice met elicited quite the sideways glance. Alice and Monet had a good relationship, except for when she let her crazy hang out. Alice had every image of Camille destroyed. There's a single surviving photograph of Camille, and it exists only because some rando in Holland had it and never told Alice.

Monet spent his life in France, but he may be spending eternity in Cleveland. Monet's ghost was visible on a balcony in the Cleveland Museum of Art  before the opening of an exhibit featuring the Impressionist's work. He looks at the viewer with a great-big-bushy-beard as if asking, "Why couldn't this show have been in San Francisco? Cleveland is balls."