[REVISION HISTORY]

Monet ‘Iris’ auction sale in Paris

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2026-10-26 02:03 UTC → 2026-10-27 00:21 UTC · added ~~removed~~

On October 22, 2026, Claude Monet’s large-scale painting ‘Iris’ (1924–1925) sold for €50 million at a Sotheby’s auction in Paris. The sale price significantly exceeded the initial estimate of €22 million to €30 million, setting a record for the most expensive artwork sold at auction in France and the most expensive work by the Impressionist artist sold in the country. The painting, which had never been publicly exhibited and was previously known only through a black-and-white photograph, was part of the Schlumberger Collection. It was acquired by an Asian client via telephone following a 45-minute bidding war involving six potential buyers. The ~~total~~ work is noted as the largest of Monet’s celebrated Iris series still held in private hands. This sale, part of the ‘Le Temps retrouvé’ dispersal of the Jeanne Schlumberger ~~collection~~ collection, surpassed the previous French auction record of €43.2 million set by an Amedeo Modigliani work in 2010. The total dispersal reached €74.4 million, ~~surpassing~~ exceeding the pre-sale estimate of €40 million. Other notable sales from the collection included Monet’s ‘Saule pleureur’ for approximately €9.6 million to €9.7 million and ‘La Seine à Vernon, l’arbre’ for €4.3 million.

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