Monet's Monumental 'Iris' Leads Sotheby's Paris Sale of Schlumberger Collection
An impressive Iris painting by Claude Monet, created between 1924 and 1925, is set to be auctioned at Sotheby's Paris on 22 October. This piece, measuring 160cm by 180cm, is the largest in his Iris series and is valued between €22m and €30m, which could establish a new auction record in France. The artwork has not been displayed since its inception and is part of a 28-lot auction from Jeanne Schlumberger's estate, projected to surpass €40m. Schlumberger, who passed away in 1984, worked with dealer Katia Granoff to amass a notable collection of Impressionist and Modern art. The auction will also feature three panels from Cézanne's Paysage romantique aux pêcheurs, with estimates starting at €400,000, all in pristine condition without guarantees.
Key facts
- Claude Monet's Iris (1924-25) carries an estimate of €22m to €30m at Sotheby's Paris on 22 October
- At 160cm by 180cm, it is the largest work from Monet's Iris series ever to come to market
- The sale could set a record for the highest price for a painting at auction in France
- The 28-lot sale from the Jeanne Schlumberger collection is expected to fetch more than €40m
- Jeanne Schlumberger, an heir to the Schlumberger oil company, died in 1984
- Schlumberger worked with Parisian dealer Katia Granoff from the 1950s to build the collection
- In 1958 Schlumberger used her house as collateral to help finance Granoff's purchase of the studio holdings of Monet's son Michel
- Monet's Saule pleureur is estimated at €9m to €12m
- Three of eight panels from Cézanne's Paysage romantique aux pêcheurs carry estimates starting at €400,000
- The Cézanne panels are designated trésors nationaux, giving the French state 30 months to acquire them
- Five of the ten highest auction prices for Monet works were achieved by paintings created after 1914
- No lots in the sale carry guarantees
Entities
Artists
- Claude Monet
- Jeanne Schlumberger
- Katia Granoff
- Paul Cézanne
- Pierre Bonnard
- Gustave Moreau
- Chaïm Soutine
- Georges Rouault
- Michel Monet
- Thomas Bompard
- Paul Cezanne
- Camille Claudel
- Marianne Mathieu
- Eugène Blot
- Pablo Picasso
- Amedeo Modigliani
- Henri Matisse
- Yves Saint Laurent
- Pierre Bergé
- Jean-Christophe Castelain
- Anne-Cécile Sanchez
- Rémy Jarry
- Marcel Schlumberger
- Auguste Renoir
- Alfred Sisley
- Gustave Courbet
- Elitsa Gadeva
- Anny Shaw
- Richard Whiddington
- Sonja Anderson
- Jen Hua
- Josephine Viat
- Cristina Masturzo
- Pierre-Auguste Renoir
- Camille Pissarro
- Gustave Loiseau
- Lucio Fontana
- Mario Schifano
- Michelangelo Pistoletto
- Joan Miró
- Marc Chagall
- Hsiao Chin
- Liu Guofu
- Paul Durand-Ruel
- Paolo Marinotti
- Marcel Brient
- Adrien Meyer
- Valentina Casacchia
- Giacomo Nicolella Maschietti
Institutions
- Sotheby's
- Schlumberger
- Art Basel
- Schlumberger Family Archives
- Blok Design Group
- Art Digital Studio
- Sotheby's Paris
- Galerie Larock-Granoff
- Connaissance des Arts
- Christie's
- Drouot-Montaigne
- Le Journal des Arts
- Art Basel Paris
- Frieze
- Grand Palais
- SLB
- Musée Marmottan Monet
- Associated Press
- Art Newspaper
- Artnet
- Smithsonian magazine
- Sotheby's Asia
- Schlumberger Collection
- Artribune
- ARTnews
- Bloomberg
- Le Monde
- Phillips
- Musée Granet
- Ministère de la Culture
- Palazzo Grassi
- Peggy Guggenheim Collection
- Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
- Magazzino Italian Art Foundation
- Collezione da Tiffany
- The Tiffany Brief
Locations
- Paris
- France
- Giverny
- Aix-en-Provence
- Rive Gauche
- rue Las-Cases
- Jas de Bouffan
- Hong Kong
- New York
- 83, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, 75008 Paris
- United States
- London
- United Kingdom
- Asia
- Normandy
- Vernon
- Rue de Faubourg
- Pourville
- Louveciennes
- Normandie
- Venice
- Italy