Hosting Monet 'positively represents' Blackpool

The Petit Bras of the Seine at Argenteuil has only left London's National Gallery once in the past 20 years

Having an Impressionist masterpiece exhibited in Blackpool as part of a national tour shows how the town "is being positively represented on a national and international stage", its council leader has said.

Claude Monet's The Petit Bras of the Seine at Argenteuil will be shown at the town's Grundy Art Gallery from 28 March until 13 June as part of its tour of four English galleries.

The work, which has only left the National Gallery once in the past 20 years, was painted by the artist in 1872.

Blackpool Council leader Lynn Williams said she was delighted locals would "get an opportunity to experience art of such significance on their doorstep".

The work, which depicts two figures on the banks of the River Seine in the Parisian suburb, was completed in the same year as the Monet piece which inspired the name of the Impressionist movement, Impression, Sunrise.

The piece was bequeathed to the National Gallery by British diplomat Sir Robert Hart.

Blackpool was chosen as one of four locations to host the painting from more than 30 museum and galleries as part of The National Gallery Masterpiece Tour.

Describing the work, the National Gallery said Monet used "a variety of brushstrokes" in the piece, ranging from "bold horizontal strokes in the foreground and water to light... feathery touches for the trees".

"He seems to have been fascinated by the reflections in the water, a theme that preoccupied him throughout his career," it added.

Blackpool was chosen as one of four locations, alongside Hull, Norwich and South Shields, to host the painting from a list of more than 30 museum and galleries.

A council representative said hosting it continued the ambition set out by the founders of the gallery, brothers Cuthbert and John Grundy, of bringing world-class art to the town.

The gallery will combine the displaying of the work with a solo exhibition by the painter Louise Giovanelli, who will return to the site on the tenth anniversary of her first solo exhibition there.

Ms Williams said she was "delighted that Blackpool residents will get an opportunity to experience art of such significance on their doorstep and that visitors to the town will have such an exciting arts and culture offer to explore".

"This is another example of how the Grundy is being recognised for the ambition and quality of its work and evidence of how Blackpool is being positively represented on a national and international stage," she added.

National Gallery director Sir Gabriele Finaldi said it was part of the organisation's duty to bring the paintings it held "to where people are [and] not just expect them to come to us".