Monet’s “Iris” breaks French auction record
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Daily Maverick
Claude Monet’s “Iris” was sold at auction in France for more than €43.2 million, setting a new national record. The work, from the Schlumberger collection, was bought by an Asian collector after nearly an hour of bidding, according to Sotheby’s.
Claude Monet’s painting “Iris” set a new record for an auction sale in France, after 45 minutes of bidding between six buyers, followed by 20 minutes of a duel between the final two bidders. An Asian collector ultimately bought it by telephone, Daily Maverick reports.
The work, painted towards the end of Claude Monet’s life, was estimated at between €22 million and €30 million and came from the Schlumberger collection. It surpassed the previous French record, held since 2010 by Amedeo Modigliani’s “Tête de Caryatide”, which sold for €43.2 million.
The sale came one day after that of another Claude Monet painting, which had already set a record in France with a price of €50 million, according to the report on the €50 million Monet published on 22 October.
