Monet revealed to public after 100 years

A painting by Claude Monet which has not been seen by the public for a century is to be sold at Christie's next month.

The sale of Sur les planches de Trouville, which is one the best examples of the artist's work seen at auction in London for a decade, is expected to raise pounds 4-5m.

The work has been in a private collection since it was purchased by the grandfather of the present owner in 1884.

It was painted by Monet in the 1860s, a time when he could barely afford canvas or brushes. At the time, he worked on the beach at Trouville on the Normandy coast with his friend Eugene Boudin, who was making his fortune painting fashionable Parisians.

Jussi Pylkkanen, director of Impressionist and Modern pictures at Christie's, said: "The picture is a perfect representation of the Impressionist movement."