Now, after 125 years in private collection, one of Monet’s earliest Nymphéas will debut at auction. The piece, a 2.5 ft x 3 ft painting from 1897-1899, headlines the Christie’s Hong Kong 20th/21st Century Evening Sale, held on September 26th. This sale will also mark the launch of the auction house’s new Asia-Pacific headquarters in The Henderson building, designed by Zaha Hadid architects.
Adrien Meyer, Global Head of Private Sales and Co-Chairman of Impressionist & Modern Art at Christie's, stated in a press release, “Claude Monet's Nymphéas are among the most influential images in modern art history. These Nymphéas reveal the pictorial innovations that would define his celebrated series. Presented for the first time at auction, it is no wonder that half of the paintings of this first series are already held in public institutions.”
The piece at auction is one of eight initial water lily paintings, and four of the others are held by notable museums around the world: Musée Marmottan Monet in Paris, the Kagoshima City Museum of Art, the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna in Rome, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.