A painting from the series "Wheels" of the French painter Claude Monet was acquired Tuesday in New York for $ 110.7 million at a sale organized by Sotheby's. This is a record for the artist at an auction, for an amount among the ten highest ever reached in auction. The price includes commission and fees. This is the first time that an Impressionist painting has crossed the symbolic threshold of 100 million dollars.
The 72 cm by 92 canvas is part of a series painted by Monet during the winter of 1890-1891 in his house in Giverny, Normandy. Another of these "Wheels" was sold in November 2016 by Christie's in New York for $ 81.4 million. Like this copy, the painting sold on Tuesday represents a haystack at dusk.
"A delight"
"We think and believe that people who find themselves in front of her would agree, that it is an even more beautiful example" than the one sold in 2016, had explained Julian Dawes, manager of the evening sales for impressionism and modern art, when presenting the sale. "Even when you stand at ten meters, it's an enchantment," he insisted. "You can not look away." The owner who had put the painting on sale, an anonymous collector, had acquired it in 1986 at a sale at Christie's in New York for only $ 2.5 million. He told Sotheby's that a portion of the proceeds from the sale would be donated to charities.
The previous record for a Monet painting was in May 2018. At a sale at Christie's in New York, the "Water Lilies in Bloom" was acquired for $ 84.6 million. "It could be a turning point for the Monet market," predicted Julian Dawes ahead of Tuesday's sale. According to him, despite the renewal of generations and the popularity of contemporary art, the interest in Impressionism is not being denied. "What I like about impressionism in general is that the market is consistent," he said, explaining that Asian collectors were fond of it today.