by Redazione 23/10/2026
Categories: Market / Disclaimer
At Sotheby’s in Paris, Claude Monet’s *Iris* fetched 50 million euros, becoming the most expensive work ever sold at auction in France. The sale of the Schlumberger collection totaled 74.4 million euros, with all lots sold and new records set for Pierre Bonnard and Gustave Moreau.
A monumental painting by Claude Monet fetched 50 million euros, setting the record for the highest price ever paid at auction for a work of art in France. The painting is *Iris* ( 1924–1925), a masterpiece from the artist’s late period, which was sold at Sotheby’s in Paris following a 45-minute bidding war involving six bidders. The work was purchased by a private Asian collector through Jen Hua, Sotheby’s vice president for Asia, who participated via telephone. The initial estimate ranged from 22 to 30 million euros; the final price amounts to approximately 56.2 million dollars.
The painting headlined the sale “La Collection Schlumberger: Le Temps Retrouvé,” which totaled 74.4 million euros, or 83.7 million dollars, more than doubling the overall minimum estimate. All lots were sold, and 74% exceeded their respective high estimates. The auction marks the most significant art sale ever organized by Sotheby’s in Paris in terms of total value. The collection was assembled over more than forty years by Jeanne Schlumberger, the first private collector to recognize and support the innovative significance of Monet’s late works. During its six-day public viewing, the exhibition attracted more than 9,000 visitors. Competition among collectors in the auction room and on the phone drove numerous lots to exceed their estimates.
“The moment you hang *Iris* on the wall, something extraordinary happens—something magical, powerful, and moving—that occurs only with the greatest works of art,” said Thomas Bompard, vice president of Sotheby’s France and co-director of the Department of Modern and Contemporary Art. “Monet painted *Iris* toward the end of his life, when his garden had become his universe and he was taking painting to unimaginable heights. A century later, that same radical beauty left the auction room audience speechless. Six bidders, 45 minutes, 50 million euros, and a new all-time record for France. Tonight, Paris belonged to Monet.”
Four paintings by Monet, all sharing an exceptional provenance, captured the bidders’ attention. Unseen by the public since their creation, they had passed directly from the artist to his son Michel, before entering the Schlumberger collection via the art dealer Katia Granoff. Alongside *Iris*, the evening’s second-highest result was *Saule pleureur*, also known as *L’Arbre de feu*, which sold for 9.7 million euros, within the estimate of 9–12 million. The painting belongs to the series dedicated to the weeping willows in the garden at Giverny. *La Seine à Vernon, Arbres* (1894) fetched 4.3 million euros, against an estimate of 1.2–1.8 million, while *La Maison à Travers les Roses* sold for 2.5 million, within the estimate of 2–3 million.
Other artists also achieved significant results. Camille Claudel’s sculpture *La Valse*, a 1905 cast of one of the artist’s best-known and most sensual works, opened the auction, fetching 832,000 euros—more than double the minimum estimate of 400,000 euros. Pierre Bonnard’s *La Cueillette des Prunes*, last exhibited in 1956, sold for 2.5 million euros, more than three times the maximum estimate of 800,000 euros. The painting may have been the central panel of a decorative triptych created around 1899: the two likely companion pieces, *La Cueillette des pommes* and *Enfants jouant avec une chèvre*, are now housed at the Pola Museum of Art in Kanagawa. Bonnard’s result marks the highest price ever achieved by the artist at an auction in France.
Gustave Moreau also set a new record. *Rêve d’Orient*, considered one of the artist’s most important works ever to appear on the market, sold for 1.4 million euros, against an estimate of 600,000–800,000 euros. The result marks both a record for a work on paper by Moreau and the highest price ever achieved by the artist at a French auction. During the same sale, *Saint Sébastien et un ange* fetched 384,000 euros, more than double its low estimate of 150,000 euros.
The evening had been preceded by the announcement of the withdrawal of three key early paintings by Paul Cézanne, recently designated as national treasures. The decision came after negotiations facilitated by Sotheby’s between the Schlumberger family and the city of Aix-en-Provence, with the support of the French Ministry of Culture. The city administration intends to acquire the works for the Musée Granet, where they will be displayed alongside other works by the artist, who was connected to Aix throughout his life and deeply influenced by the region.
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| Sotheby’s Paris: Monet’s *Iris* Sells for 50 Million, Setting an All-Time Auction Record in France |
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