Six oil paintings by French impressionist Claude Monet previously held in private collections were put up to auction in Sotheby’s, New York on 5 May 2015. Five of the six Monet paintings were sold, with Nymphéas selling for $54m. The piece, part of Claude Monet’s “Water Lilies” series had not been seen in public since 1945 and was estimated to cost between $30m-45m.
Monet’s best selling works at auction
1. The Lily Pond (1919) 2008 $80.5 million
2. Waterlillies (1905) 2015 $54 million
3. Nympheas (1906) 2014 $54 million
4. Le Grand Canal (1908) 2015 $36.09 million
5. Nymphéas (1905) 2012 $43.8 million
6. The Railway Bridge of Argenteuil (1873) 2008 $41.5 milion
7. Waterlilies (1904) 2007 $36.7 million
8. Waterloo Bridge (1904) 2007 $35.5 million
9. Waterlily Pond and Path by the Water (1900) 1998 $33.1 million
The Lily Pond by Claude Monet (1840-1926) / Private Collection / Photo © Christie’s Images / Bridgeman Images
Nothing says “summer” like Claude Monet’s paintings of water lilies, inspired by the lily pond in his garden at Giverny in France. He selected different hybrids of water lilies in an effort to get as many different coloured flowers as possible, deliberately creating the garden as a motif for his paintings.
This painting was part of four large-scale paintings of Monet’s water lily garden, signed and dated by the artist in 1919. It was sold for a record $80 million at Christie’s in 2008.
Railway Bridge at Argenteuil, 1873 by Claude Monet (1840-1926) Photo © Christie’s Images / Bridgeman Images
“Le Pont du Chemin de Fer à Argenteuil,” a painting of a bridge with two trains passing over the Seine while pleasure boats float below, sold for $41.48 million at Christie’s auction house in New York in 2008.
Argenteuil was a centre for pleasure boating among affluent Parisians and a popular subject for many Impressionist artists. Monet rented a house near the cast-iron railway bridge.
Claude Monet (1840-1926) in front of his paintings ‘The Waterlilies’, in his studio at Giverny, 1920 by Henri Manuel (1874-1947) / Musee Marmottan Monet, Paris / Bridgeman Images
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View over 1,200 Monet artworks in the Bridgeman archive. Contact uksales@bridgemanimages.com for licensing enquiries.
Bridgeman’s represented collections include Christie’s Fine Art Auction House and Musée Monet-Marmottan in Paris.
Source: Art Daily News, Art.net, BBC News