The Painting That Set Monet's Auction Record and Raised the Bar for the Impressionists
3 min read · 11 Feb 2025
Meules. Image courtesy of Sotheby's
Claude Monet's Meules (Grainstacks) (1890) sold for $110.7m at Sotheby's New York on May 14, 2019.
It had last sold in May 1986 at Christie’s New York for $2.5m.
Meules (1890) is one of 25 paintings of grainstacks created by Monet from 1890 to 1891, which were inspired by the countryside next to his home in Giverny, Normandy. Eight are in private collections.
The painting was first owned by Bertha Honoré Palmer. The wife of the Chicago hotel and rail magnate, Potter Palmer, she owned nine works from what is described as Monet's "Haystacks" series but that was a fraction of the collection she brought back to the Midwest.
One of Monet's most important collectors, at one point Bertha Honoré owned 90 works by the French artist, including four of his Poplar paintings, three of Rouen Cathedral, and a further three works from his series of paintings of the Seine in the morning.
Nymphéas En Fleur. Image courtesy of Christie's
The sale beat Monet's previous auction record by $26.06m, a 30% rise. His previous record was set by Nymphéas En Fleur (1914), which sold for $84.69m at Christie's on May 8, 2018. The work had been traded 3 times in the past.
A Brief History of Monet at Auction
Sale Date | Title | Price | Record Increase | Venue | City |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019-05-14 | Meules | $110.7m | 31 % | Sotheby's | New York |
2018-05-08 | Nymphéas En Fleur | $84.69m | 4 % | Christie's | New York |
2016-11-16 | Meule | $81.45m | 1 % | Christie's | New York |
2008-06-24 | Le bassin aux nymphéas | $80.64m | 94 % | Christie's | London |
2008-05-06 | Le Pont du chemin de fer à Argenteuil | $41.48m | 26 % | Christie's | New York |
2007-06-19 | Nympheas - Water lilies | $32.81m | 3 % | Sotheby's | London |
2007-06-18 | Waterloo Bridge temps couvert | $31.72m | 6 % | Christie's | London |
1998-06-30 | Bassin aux nympheas et sentier au bord de l'eau | $30.05m | 35 % | Sotheby's | London |
1988-06-28 | Dans la prairie | $22.33m | 275 % | Sotheby's | London |
1988-06-27 | La maison bleue Zaandam | $5.96m | 12 % | Christie's | London |
1987-11-11 | Le jardin fleuri | $5.3m | 77 % | Sotheby's | New York |
1987-11-10 | Nympheas | $3m | 15 % | Christie's | New York |
1987-05-11 | Pont dans le jardin de Monet | $2.6m | 8 % | Sotheby's | New York |
1983-05-18 | Nympheas | $2.4m | 79 % | Sotheby's | New York |
1967-12-01 | La terrasse a Sainte Adresse | $1.34m | 314 % | Christie's | London |
1967-06-28 | Le Chemin D'epinay, Effet De Neige | $324,800 | 51 % | Sotheby's | London |
1963-06-11 | Le pont du chemin de fer a Argenteuil | $215,600 | 28 % | Sotheby's | London |
1963-04-24 | Bateaux de peche au large de Pourville | $168,000 | 7 % | Sotheby's | London |
1962-06-14 | La barque bleue - Mme Blanche Monet et Mme Jean Monet | $156,800 | 40 % | Sotheby's | London |
1962-04-10 | Zaandam | $112,000 | 82 % | Sotheby's | London |
1957-07-10 | La Maison Bleue a Zaandam | $61,600 | - | Sotheby's | London |
Get the HENI News Daily Art Digest delivered to your inbox