Claude Monet painting sold $ 117 M., last night Sotheby's NY.
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 28 1/3 inches by 36 1/4 inches 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.
"We think and I think that the people who find themselves in front of her would agree, that it is an even more beautiful example" than that sold in 2016, had explained to AFP Julian Dawes, manager of the evening sales for impressionism and modern art, during the presentation of 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 part of the proceeds from the sale would be donated to charity.
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," Dawes anticipated 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.
La Derniere Heure
