Monet painting fetches $35 million at New York auction

Claude Monet's "Meules a Giverny," which the French impressionist painted in 1893, went for $34.8 million after a bidding war.

Handlers place "Meules a Giverny" by Claude Monet during a media preview for Sotheby's upcoming "New York Marquee Evening Sales" in New York City, New York, US.  / Photo: Reuters
Reuters

Handlers place "Meules a Giverny" by Claude Monet during a media preview for Sotheby's upcoming "New York Marquee Evening Sales" in New York City, New York, US.  / Photo: Reuters

A Monet sold for nearly $35 million at auction, Sotheby's said, marking a solid start to New York's spring art sales.

Both Sotheby's and rival auction house Christie's launched their spring season Monday. Though the global art market softened last year, strong sales in London and Paris have sparked optimism for 2024.

Claude Monet's "Meules a Giverny," which the French impressionist painted in 1893, went for $34.8 million after a bidding war.

Meanwhile, British-Mexican artist Leonora Carrington broke her own auction record when her "Les Distractions de Dagobert" sold for $28.5 million.

Drop in Russian buyers

The new record places Carrington among the top five most valuable women artists at auction, Sotheby's said -- and among the top four surrealist artists, "overtaking Max Ernst and Salvador Dali."

Christie's, meanwhile, sold some $115 million in contemporary art the prior evening, including a Jean-Michel Basquiat painting for $32 million.

At the Phillips auction house, Basquiat's "Untitled (ELMAR)" sold for $46.5 million.

Amid the war in Ukraine and its fallout -- which has led to a drop in Russian buyers -- art auction sales worldwide fell to $14.9 billion last year, compared with $16 billion in 2022.

Read More
Read More

Paris museum recreates  Impressionism to mark 150 years of movement

Route 6