CLAUDE MONET (1840-1926) – NYMPHÉAS dated 1906. UPDATE: IT SOLD FOR £31.7 MILLION
Less than two months after a water lily painting by Claude Monet topped Christie’s Impressionist sale in New York Sotheby’s will lead their sale of Impressionist and Modern Art in London on June 23 with Nymphéas (Water Lilies) of 1906. It is estimated at £20-30 million ($35-50 million). The water lilies at Christie’s sold for $27,045,000.
The Sotheby’s version was selected by Monet to be exhibited at his seminal exhibition held at the Galerie Durand-Ruel, Paris, in 1909 to unveil his water lily paintings. It was acquired by Paul Durand-Ruel – the legendary art dealer who championed the Impressionists and represented Monet, among many other of the greatest artists of his time – and remained in his personal collection throughout his lifetime. It has been widely exhibited at museums including the Museum of Modern Art, New York and the Musée National d’Art Moderne, Paris. Since 2011 the painting has been on loan to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for May 7, 2014).