Art News · 4 November 2026

Art News: Monet auction results at Sotheby's, from the $110.7 million haystacks to the water lilies

By Whitebank Fine Art

The highest price paid for a Claude Monet at auction is $110,747,000, for one of his Meules (haystacks), at Sotheby's in New York in May 2019. Below that, Sotheby's has sold water lilies at up to $70.4 million, and in October a late Iris became the most expensive work of art ever auctioned in France. Here are the results, with pictures of the paintings, followed by the Monets Sotheby's is offering in New York this month and what decides the price of a Monet.

Two haystacks at sunset, dark red and violet against a sky of burning orange and yellow

Claude Monet, Meules, 1890. Sold at Sotheby's, New York, May 2019, for $110,747,000. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Monet auction results at Sotheby's

Painting	Price with fees	Sale
Meules, 1890	$110,747,000	New York, May 2019
Le Bassin aux nymphéas, 1917–19	$70,353,000	New York, May 2021
Nymphéas, 1914–17	$65,500,000	New York, November 2024
Le Grand Canal et Santa Maria della Salute, 1908	$56,625,500	New York, May 2022
Iris, 1924–25	€50,045,000	Paris, October 2026
Nymphéas, 1907	£40,760,000	London, June 2026
Coin du bassin aux nymphéas, 1918	$50,820,000	New York, November 2021
Meules à Giverny, 1893	$34,804,500	New York, May 2024
Peupliers au bord de l'Epte, temps couvert, 1891	$30,783,000	New York, November 2023
Nymphéas, 1914–17	£23,228,500	London, March 2022
Le Moulin de Limetz, 1888	$25,612,500	New York, November 2023
Les Arceaux de roses, Giverny, 1913	$23,304,500	New York, May 2022
Vétheuil, 1880	£11,738,500	London, June 2022
Antibes vue de la Salis, 1888	$14,122,500	New York, May 2024
Antibes vue de la Salis, 1888	$13,342,400	New York, November 2021
Vétheuil, effet du matin, 1901	€10,197,500	Paris, April 2026
Au Cap Martin, 1884	$11,479,800	New York, May 2023
Maison de jardinier, 1884	£8,215,000	London, March 2026
Saule pleureur ou L'Arbre de feu, 1918–19	€9,680,000	Paris, October 2026
Fleurs dans un pot (Roses et brouillard), 1878	$10,375,200	New York, May 2021
Massif de chrysanthèmes, 1897	£8,291,500	London, March 2022
Arbres au bord de l'eau, printemps à Giverny, 1885	£7,748,300	London, March 2024
Saules au soleil couchant, 1889	$8,996,400	New York, November 2021

Prices are in the currency of the sale, in the order Sotheby's ranks them. This table uses Sotheby's results only and does not include other auction houses. Apart from the 2019 record, it covers the sales in Sotheby's online results, so some earlier sales are missing.

Monet's haystacks at auction

Meules made its price after six bidders competed for eight minutes, and it had last been at auction in 1986. At the time it was the record for any Impressionist work. Monet showed a group of his haystacks together in Paris in 1891, and a later view, Meules à Giverny, of 1893, made $34.8 million at Sotheby's in May 2024.

A single red-brown haystack in a sunlit meadow, with a line of pale green trees behind it under a broken sky

Claude Monet, Meules à Giverny, 1893. Sold at Sotheby's, New York, May 2024, for $34,804,500. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Monet's water lilies at auction

Water lily paintings make up five of the top ten in the table. Le Bassin aux nymphéas, a canvas two metres wide, leads them at $70.4 million. A tall Nymphéas of 1914–17 from the collection of Sydell Miller made $65.5 million, and a Nymphéas of 1907 made £40.8 million in London in June. Another Nymphéas of 1914–17 made £23.2 million in London in 2022, and Coin du bassin aux nymphéas is below.

A wide view of a water lily pond, dark green pads and pink flowers around a reflection of pale violet and white clouds

Claude Monet, Le Bassin aux nymphéas, 1917–19. Sold at Sotheby's, New York, May 2021, for $70,353,000. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Clusters of pink water lilies floating on a pale lilac surface that reflects a cloudy sky

Claude Monet, Nymphéas, 1907. Sold at Sotheby's, London, June 2026, for £40,760,000. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

The garden at Giverny

The late garden paintings are large, loose and among the highest priced. Coin du bassin aux nymphéas, of 1918, is nearly two metres tall and made $50.8 million. Iris, which had never been shown in public, made €50 million from the Schlumberger collection in Paris on 22 October, and Saule pleureur made €9.7 million in the same sale. Les Arceaux de roses, of 1913, with its rose arches reflected in the pond, made $23.3 million.

A tall dark painting of the edge of the pond at Giverny, with red flowers among dense foliage and lily pads in the foreground

Claude Monet, Coin du bassin aux nymphéas, 1918. Sold at Sotheby's, New York, November 2021, for $50,820,000. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Tall green leaves and yellow irises rising across a canvas of grey, blue and white brushwork

Claude Monet, Iris, 1924–25. Sold at Sotheby's, Paris, October 2026, for €50,045,000. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Arches covered in red roses beyond a pond, their reflection forming a second arch in the still water with lily pads in the corner

Claude Monet, Les Arceaux de roses, Giverny, 1913. Sold at Sotheby's, New York, May 2022, for $23,304,500. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Venice and the Riviera

Monet went to Venice in 1908, and Le Grand Canal et Santa Maria della Salute made $56.6 million in 2022. His trips to the south have their own following. Au Cap Martin and Maison de jardinier both date from 1884, the second painted at Bordighera, and two different views of Antibes vue de la Salis, both of 1888, made $14.1 million and $13.3 million. The Royal Academy's Painting the French Riviera covers those trips and is open until 31 January.

The domed church of Santa Maria della Salute across shimmering turquoise water, with striped mooring poles in the foreground and a gondola in the distance

Claude Monet, Le Grand Canal et Santa Maria della Salute, 1908. Sold at Sotheby's, New York, May 2022, for $56,625,500. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

A red path and dark green trees on a headland, with blue mountains rising beyond a strip of sea

Claude Monet, Au Cap Martin, 1884. Sold at Sotheby's, New York, May 2023, for $11,479,800. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

White villas above a dense mass of dark green garden, with a strip of deep blue sea behind them

Claude Monet, Maison de jardinier, 1884. Sold at Sotheby's, London, March 2026, for £8,215,000. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

The Seine and the Epte

The landscapes near his homes make up most of the rest. Peupliers au bord de l'Epte, one of his poplars of 1891, made $30.8 million, and Le Moulin de Limetz, of 1888, $25.6 million, both in the same New York sale in November 2023. Monet lived at Vétheuil from 1878 to 1881, and a view of 1880 made £11.7 million. He came back to paint the village in 1901, and Vétheuil, effet du matin made €10.2 million in Paris in April.

Tall thin poplars in a line along a river bank, grey-green against a pale pink and lilac sky and reflected in the water

Claude Monet, Peupliers au bord de l'Epte, temps couvert, 1891. Sold at Sotheby's, New York, November 2023, for $30,783,000. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Dense blue-green foliage filling most of the canvas, with a glimpse of a bridge and a glittering river to the right

Claude Monet, Le Moulin de Limetz, 1888. Sold at Sotheby's, New York, November 2023, for $25,612,500. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

A village of white and pink houses around a church on the far bank of a broad silver river, with a small boat on the water

Claude Monet, Vétheuil, effet du matin, 1901. Sold at Sotheby's, Paris, April 2026, for €10,197,500. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Dark willows at the right of a yellow meadow, lit by a low sun under a pale sky

Claude Monet, Saules au soleil couchant, 1889. Sold at Sotheby's, New York, November 2021, for $8,996,400. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Pale bare trees on a river bank in spring, in soft pinks and blues, reflected in still water

Claude Monet, Arbres au bord de l'eau, printemps à Giverny, 1885. Sold at Sotheby's, London, March 2024, for £7,748,300. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Also at Sotheby's

Not every Monet sells. Camille assise sur la plage à Trouville, of 1870, was offered in London in June at £7 million to £10 million, and Sotheby's lists it with that estimate and no sold price. The same search also brings up Banksy's Show Me the Monet, his version of the Giverny footbridge with shopping trolleys in the pond, which made £7,551,600 in London in October 2020.

Monets at Sotheby's in New York this month

These are the Monets listed for Sotheby's November sales in New York. The two evening sales are on 18 November.

Painting	Estimate	Sale
La Barque bleue, 1887	$20 million to $30 million	Modern Evening Auction
Le Jardin des Tuileries, 1876	$15 million to $20 million	Legendary: The Blaquier-Arrieta Collection
Chrysanthèmes	$6 million to $8 million	Modern Evening Auction
Effet du soir sur la Seine	$3 million to $5 million	Modern Evening Auction
Paysage à Villez	$1 million to $1.5 million	Modern Day Auction

How much is a Monet worth?

The range is very wide. At Sotheby's a Paysage sold for $277,200 in 2021, against $110.7 million for Meules. Subject matters a great deal: haystacks, water lilies and the late Giverny garden lead the table above. So do size, date and condition, and provenance, which for any Monet should be checked against the Wildenstein catalogue raisonné. A painting coming to market for the first time can also draw extra attention, as Iris did.

If you own a work by Monet and would like to know what you have, read our guide to selling Claude Monet and send us photographs for a free valuation. There is no obligation to sell, and we act for you rather than for the saleroom.

More on Monet

Cover: Claude Monet, Nymphéas, 1907, detail. Sold at Sotheby's, London, June 2026. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

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