But, judging by the awed silence as his iconic Waterlillies was placed carefully on the wall at the National Gallery of Australia by gloved installers on Friday, Monet's fleeting impressions have lasted much longer than he could ever have imagined.

The painting was being hung as part of a major exhibition of Monet's work, held mostly by the Musee Marmottan in Paris, and set to open in Canberra next week.

The exhibition focuses on one of Monet's most seminal works, Impression Sunrise, the painting that, while derided at the time by critics as something barely complete, would give birth to the Impressionist movement.

The painting, of the sun rising over boats in the water, was itself inspired by the work of JMW Turner, and is considered one of the Marmottan's most prized works.

It has rarely left the museum's walls since Monet's large private collection was bequeathed to the museum by his son, Michel Monet, in 1966.

The exhibition of 59 paintings includes the works by Turner - lent by the Tate London - that originally inspired Monet to paint the sunrise, as well as several paintings by artists who were working alongside Monet in the Impressionist movement, including Berthe Morisot and Alfred Sisley.

The hangings on Friday were being carefully overseen by the Marmottan's head curator Marianne Mathieu, who will be here for the exhibition's opening on June 7.

She said the Marmottan was marking its 85th anniversary this year by sharing a part of its vast collection - the premier collection of Monet's works - with the gallery in Canberra.

"We have a very specific mission, of reuniting Monet's oeuvre through our collection," she said.

"So to celebrate the 85th year of the museum... we wanted to stage a major exhibition around Impression Sunrise."

Visitors will be able to see the genesis of Impressionism, with Impression Sunrise hanging alongside the works by Turner that had such influence on Monet.

The exhibition also shows the progression of Monet's style through the years, which became more defined, while remaining unique and unmistakable.

Ms Mathieu said the two main works in the show, Impression Sunrise and Waterlillies, painted 40 years apart, had both been criticised at the time.

She said while it was rare to have allowed these works to have travelled so far across the world, it was always emotional to be able to see the reaction of gallery visitors when they were able to see Monet up close.

"It's a unique opportunity, and it's something we really see in the eyes of the visitor," she said. "We're extremely lucky and very emotional that his work has meaning."

The National Gallery is expecting large crowds at this show, as previous exhibitions featuring Impressionist works have proved remarkably successful. It's most successful exhibition to date, 2010's Masterpieces from Paris, broke all Australian gallery records in terms of visitor numbers.