Monet’s Monumental ‘Iris’ Sells for €50 Million at Sotheby’s Paris

On October 22, 2026, Claude Monet’s monumental painting ‘Iris’ was sold at Sotheby’s Paris for €50 million including buyer’s fees. This sale made ‘Iris’ the most expensive work by Monet ever sold in France. The painting is the largest of Monet’s celebrated Iris series and came from the collection of Jeanne Schlumberger, an heir to the Schlumberger oil company. The winning bidder participated by phone, represented by Jen Hua, the deputy chairman of Sotheby’s Asia.

The auction featured 27 works from the Schlumberger collection, including three additional paintings by Monet. Among these was ‘Saule Pleureur’ (Weeping Willow), which was valued between €9 million and €12 million. All 27 works from the collection were sold, and three-quarters of them achieved prices above their high estimates.

The total proceeds from the Schlumberger collection sale reached €74.4 million including fees. This figure was well above the pre-sale estimate of €40 million, which was calculated without fees. The strong results at the auction reflected significant interest in the works offered from the Schlumberger collection.

Shortly before the auction began, three paintings by Paul Cézanne were withdrawn from the sale. These works had been classified as national treasures. According to Sotheby’s, the Cézanne paintings were withdrawn with the intention of returning them to the artist’s hometown of Aix-en-Provence.

On the same day, a separate auction was held at Christie’s Paris. This auction saw the sale of 26 works, including two paintings by Monet. ‘Bord des falaises à Pourville’ sold for €12.7 million, and ‘Trois pots de tulipes’ sold for €3.1 million.

Other notable sales at the Christie’s auction included a work by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, ‘Jeunes filles au bord de la mer,’ which fetched €5.8 million. Pablo Picasso’s ‘Nature morte au gruyere’ was also sold, achieving a price of €3 million. The total amount realized at Christie’s was €41.6 million, including buyers’ fees.

These auctions in Paris on October 22, 2026, featured significant works by leading Impressionist and modern artists, with strong results for both the Schlumberger collection at Sotheby’s and the works offered at Christie’s.