Claude Monet's "Iris" Sells for Record-Breaking $56.2 Million USD at Sotheby's Paris
The masterwork led the historic Jeanne Schlumberger collection to become the most expensive artwork ever auctioned in France.
Summary
Claude Monet's painting "Iris" sold for 50 million EUR or $56.2 million USD at Sotheby's Paris to establish a new French auction record
The lot anchored the white-glove Jeanne Schlumberger collection sale which achieved a record 74.4 million EUR for the auction house in Paris
The evening also set new auction highs for Pierre Bonnard and Gustave Moreau alongside the state withdrawal of three Cézanne national treasures
Sotheby’s has established a historic fine art benchmark after Claude Monet’s Iris sold for €50 million EUR (approximately $56.2 million USD) at its Paris location. The landmark sale set a new record for the most expensive artwork ever sold at auction in France.
The painting ignited a 45-minute bidding battle among six collectors before hammering down to a private buyer in Asia represented by Sotheby’s deputy chairman Jen Hua, far surpassing its pre-sale high estimate of €30 million EUR. Serving as the centerpiece for the estate collection of Jeanne Schlumberger, the canvas led a 100-percent sell-through evening that achieved €74.4 million EUR ($83.7 million USD)—the highest-grossing fine art auction in the history of Sotheby’s Paris. Three additional Monet pieces generated notable receipts, headlined by Saule pleureur ou L’Arbre de feu, which realized €9.7 million EUR ($10.9 million USD).
The sale generated additional milestones across French art history, including an artist auction record in France for Pierre Bonnard after La Cueillette des Prunes sold for €2.5 million EUR ($2.9 million USD). Gustave Moreau’s work on paper Rêve d’Orient brought in €1.4 million EUR ($1.6 million USD), setting a new auction record for a drawing by the artist. Meanwhile, three early paintings by Paul Cézanne were withdrawn prior to bidding after receiving French national treasure designations, clearing the path for the city of Aix-en-Provence to acquire them for the Musée Granet.
