Monet’s ‘Iris’ to be auctioned in Paris for up to 30 million euros

Sotheby’s has announced a major auction in Paris scheduled for October 22, featuring 28 works from the private collection of Jeanne Schlumberger. The centerpiece is Claude Monet’s monumental painting ‘Iris’, created between 1924 and 1925. Estimated to sell for between 22 and 30 million euros, ‘Iris’ represents the highest estimate ever attributed to a painting at an auction in France.

Notably, ‘Iris’ has never been publicly exhibited and was previously known only through black-and-white photography. The work, measuring 160 by 180 centimeters, remained in the Schlumberger family residence for decades. The auction also includes another Monet piece, ‘Saule pleureur’, estimated at 9 to 12 million euros.

The Schlumberger collection, valued at over 40 million euros, features various Impressionist and Modern masters, including Paul Cézanne, Gustave Moreau, Camille Claudel, and Pierre Bonnard. Before the Paris sale, the works will undergo an international tour with stops in Hong Kong and New York.