Sotheby’s London will offer two Claude Monet paintings at its June 24 modern and contemporary art sale, with a combined estimate of up to $67 million. The works—Nymphéas (1907), depicting his water lily pond, and Camille assise sur la plage à Trouville (1870–71), a portrait of his wife—come from a single unnamed seller and have blue-chip provenance, having passed through the collections of Anne Bass and Peggy and David Rockefeller, respectively. Nymphéas previously sold for $56.5 million at Christie’s in 2022, while the Camille portrait last sold for $12.1 million at Christie’s 2018 Rockefeller sale.
The sale matters because it brings two museum-quality Monets to market at a time when the auction house is testing confidence in the high-end Impressionist market and London’s role as a global sales venue. The water lily painting, from Monet’s peak period, is among the most coveted subjects—14 Monet canvases have exceeded $50 million at auction since 2008, nine of them water lilies. The Camille portrait is exceptionally rare, with only one other painting of the artist’s wife ever appearing at auction. The consignment signals that major sellers still see strong demand for top-tier Impressionist works.