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Claude Monet, Le Bassin aux nymphéas, 1917. Courtesy of Sotheby’s. Van Gogh’s painting just narrowly beat out this work by another iconic Impressionist, which sold at a Sotheby’s spring sale for $70.3 million. Le Bassin aux nymphéas (1917–19), which was included in the house’s May evening sale of Impressionist and modern art, is a prime example of Claude Monet’s signature artistry, full of languid brushstrokes and dreamy colors—and, of course, his beloved water lilies. The $70 million final hammer price places the work firmly in the middle of the artist’s top 10 auction results, dominated mostly by similar paintings of lilies, as well as Monet’s other favored motif, the pastoral haystacks. Le Bassin—the fifth-highest auction result for a piece by Monet—trails the fourth-highest hammer price by $10 million, but stands a cool $15 million ahead of the next result, achieved by another lily painting at a Sotheby’s sale in 2015. This latest result is part of a promising upswing in the Impressionist master’s work at the market: Four of his top five results at auction have been achieved in the past five years, with the current top lot, 1890’s Meules, selling for $110.7 million in 2019.
The Most Expensive Artworks Sold in 2021
Claude Monet, Le Bassin aux nymphéas, 1917. Courtesy of Sotheby’s. Van Gogh’s painting just narrowly beat out this work by another iconic Impressionist, which sold at a Sotheby’s spring sale for $70.3 million. Le Bassin aux nymphéas (1917–19), which was included in the house’s May evening sale of Impressionist and modern art, is a prime example of Claude Monet’s signature artistry, full of languid brushstrokes and dreamy colors—and, of course, his beloved water lilies. The $70 million final hammer price places the work firmly in the middle of the artist’s top 10 auction results, dominated mostly by similar paintings of lilies, as well as Monet’s other favored motif, the pastoral haystacks. Le Bassin—the fifth-highest auction result for a piece by Monet—trails the fourth-highest hammer price by $10 million, but stands a cool $15 million ahead of the next result, achieved by another lily painting at a Sotheby’s sale in 2015. This latest result is part of a promising upswing in the Impressionist master’s work at the market: Four of his top five results at auction have been achieved in the past five years, with the current top lot, 1890’s Meules, selling for $110.7 million in 2019.