Hong Kong gets a peek at a Monet gem
Print Edition
CHRISTIE’S Hong Kong showroom displayed Claude Monet’s “Meule” (Grainstack) in Hong Kong yesterday, as part of a sales tour for an auction in New York next month, where the work — one of the highlights of the sale — is expected to fetch about US$45 million.
This is the first time the painting has been exhibited in Asia. It is recognized as one of the finest examples of Monet’s Grainstack series, which was executed over the winter of 1890-1891, according to Christie’s.
The Grainstack series, about 25 canvases in all, was the most challenging and revolutionary endeavor that Monet ever undertook, said Conor Jordan, deputy chairman of Impressionist and Modern Art at Christie’s.
“Meule is rendered with a weft of jewel-like color that evokes both radiant glory of a moment and the universal qualities of the passage of time in nature,” he said.
Most of the Grainstack series are housed in major art museums. Few are in private collections.
In recent years, prices for exceptional examples of Monet’s work have soared, driven by demand from collectors for masterpieces from the greatest master of the Impressionist period, Jordan said.
The top price at auction for any Monet painting is US$80.4 million for “Le Bassin aux nympheas” from 1919, sold at Christie’s London in 2008.
Jussi Pylkkanen, Christie’s global president said the auction house had been extremely aware of the growing passion for classic Impressionist paintings among leading Asian collectors.
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