Monet, Meules ($55m->)This example of Monet’s Meules has not been on public view since it was acquired at auction by the present owners in 1986 for $2.53 million. It has remained in the same private collection since it was acquired at auction. Now it is coming to auction in May as part of a larger guaranteed collection that is being sold to fund philanthropy. According to Sotheby’s, it is “one of the very best works from Monet’s iconic Haystacks series, estimated to sell for in excess of $55 million.”
Here’s more from the firm:
On May 14th, Sotheby’s will offer Claude Monet’s Meules from 1890 — an icon of Impressionism and one of the most celebrated images in art history. Estimated to sell for in excess of $55 million, the magnificent painting is one of the finest examples from the Haystacks series that Monet painted in the early 1890s, and one of only eight remaining in private hands. Of the 25 canvases in the full series, 17 examples reside in the distinguished collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the Musée d’Orsay, Paris and six in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Meules is further distinguished by its illustrious provenance, having been acquired by wealthy Chicago socialites and fervent collectors of Impressionist works, Mr. and Mrs. Potter Palmer, directly from the artist’s dealer in the 1890s. Mrs. Potter Palmer is thought to have owned as many as 90 works by Monet throughout her life, often selling them soon after they were acquired. However, this canvas remained with her until the time of her death in 1918, and descended through the Potter family until it was sold at auction in 1986 for $2.53 million.
The radiant canvas leads an important private collection of eight Impressionist paintings that will anchor our Evening Sale on the 14th, including works by masters of the genre such as Pierre Bonnard, Camille Pissarro, Édouard Manet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Signac, Alfred Sisley and Édouard Vuillard.
Proceeds from the sale of the collection will significantly benefit two world-renowned, not-for-profit institutions in the fields of science and music.
