Trio of Monets Could Break $60 Million at Sotheby’s

Claude Monet, Alice Hoschedé au jardin (1881).
Photo: Courtesy Sotheby's

Sotheby’s has unveiled another set of highlights from its upcoming November Impressionist and modern art sale–three major works by Claude Monet, all from the same private American collection, will be offered on November 4 in New York and could reel in more than $60 million combined.

The paintings, which pre-date the artist’s famous waterlily series, are from the 1880s and 90s and “trace the evolution of Monet’s style as he challenged the limits of High Impressionism,” according to a statement from Sotheby’s.

Simon Shaw, worldwide co-head of the Impressionist and modern art department points out that “each new generation of collectors rediscovers and reinterprets this great master.”

The priciest of the works, with an estimate of $25–35 million, is Alice Hoschedé au jardin (1881). The subject, who is depicted sitting in a lush garden, was not only the artist’s lover but was the wife of a close friend and patron, Ernest Hoschedé, the department store mogul. Monet personally chose this painting to include in a 1889 show, “Monet Rodin,” at the Galerie Georges Petit in Paris. The canvas became part of the collection of Patterson, New Jersey collector Catholina Lambert in 1890, making it one of the earliest Impressionist pictures to arrive in the US.

Claude Monet, Sous Les Peupliers (1887).Photo: Courtesy Sotheby's

Claude Monet, Sous Les Peupliers (1887).
Photo: Courtesy Sotheby’s.

Sous les Peupliers (1887), a scenic depiction of the French countryside, is estimated at $12–18 million, and Église de Vernon, soleil (1894), which shows the tranquil town of Vernon with its “resplendent reflection” in the Seine, is expected to bring between $7–9 million. During the spring of 1894, Monet repeatedly painted scenes reflected in the Seine.

Claude Monet, Église de Vernon, soleil (1894).  Photo: Courtesy Sotheby's

Claude Monet, Église de Vernon, soleil (1894).
Photo: Courtesy Sotheby’s.

The current record for a Monet painting is the $80 million (£40.9 million) price achieved at Christie’s London in June 2008 for Le bassin aux nymphéas (1919) on an estimate of $35–47 million.


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