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Why Monet’s Rare ‘Iris’ Sold for a Record €50 Million in Paris
Monet’s late painting Iris sold for €50 million including fees at Sotheby’s Paris on October 22, 2026—more than twice its €22–30 million estimate and a record for any artwork sold at auction in France. The hammer fell at €43 million before fees, after a bidding contest reported as lasting 42 minutes by The New York...
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- Monet’s late painting Iris sold for €50 million including fees at Sotheby’s Paris on October 22, 2026—more than twice its €22–30 million estimate and a record for any artwork sold at auction in France.
- The hammer fell at €43 million before fees, after a bidding contest reported as lasting 42 minutes by The New York Times and about 45 minutes by other outlets.
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openai.comCreate a landscape editorial hero image for this Studio Global article: How did Claude Monet’s previously unseen late painting “Iris,” painted around 1924–25, achieve a record €50 million ($56 million) sale inclu. Article summary: Claude Monet’s *Iris*, painted around 1924–25, sold at Sotheby’s Paris on Thursday, October 22, 2026, for €50 million—about $56 million—including buyer’s fees, becoming the most expensive artwork ever auctioned in France. Topic tags: general, news, general web. Style: premium digital editorial illustration, source-backed research mood, clean composition, high detail, modern web publication hero. Use reference image context only for broad subject, composition, and topical grounding; do not copy the exact image. Avoid: logos, brand marks, copyrighted characters, real person likenesses, fake screenshots, UI text, readable text, watermarks, charts with fake numbers
Claude Monet’s Iris, painted around 1924–25, sold for €50 million including buyer’s fees at Sotheby’s Paris on October 22, 2026. The result set a record for the most expensive artwork sold at auction in France, far exceeding the painting’s €22–30 million estimate. 2
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The price reflected an unusually rare late Monet coming to public view for the first time, alongside intense competition among bidders. Reports put the contest at between 42 and about 45 minutes; the winning bid came by telephone for a private collector in Asia. 1
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A record result well above estimate
The €50 million total included fees. The hammer price was reported as €43 million, before buyer’s fees were added. 4
9 Sotheby’s had estimated the work at €22 million to €30 million, an estimate described before the sale as the highest ever assigned to a painting offered at auction in France.
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The record was broader than a new high for Monet’s iris paintings: Iris became the most expensive artwork sold at auction in France. 2
11 The sale reports differ slightly on the length of the bidding—The New York Times put it at 42 minutes, while other accounts described a contest of roughly 45 minutes. They agree it was a lengthy battle involving at least six potential buyers.
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Why Iris stood out
The painting’s rarity was a central part of its appeal. Bloomberg reported that it had never been exhibited, and that it was sold by the Schlumberger heirs. 2 The work had remained in the family’s Paris residence and was known publicly through a black-and-white photograph, according to Le Monde.
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At approximately 1.60 by 1.80 meters, Iris is a substantial late-period canvas. 11 Sotheby’s describes it as the largest of three horizontal-format iris compositions Monet made in the 1920s, and the only one of those three still in private hands.
36 That combination—a large late work, an uncommon subject within this group, and its first public exhibition—made the auction a rare opportunity for collectors.
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The painting’s documented ownership also links it to Monet’s family and the Paris art world: Sotheby’s provenance lists the artist’s son Michel Monet, Galerie Katia Granoff, and the Schlumberger collection. 16 Jeanne Schlumberger acquired the work, according to Le Monde.
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A long bidding contest, then an Asian buyer
At least six prospective buyers participated by telephone, according to The New York Times. 1 The winning buyer was a private collector in Asia; The New York Times reported that the client bid by phone with Sotheby’s Asia deputy chair Jen Hua, while Bloomberg also identified the buyer as an Asian private collector.
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The bidding’s duration is reported as 42 minutes by The New York Times and approximately 45 minutes by other outlets. 1
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6 Though the accounts vary by a few minutes, they all describe an unusually extended contest that pushed the hammer price to €43 million before fees.
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Part of the Schlumberger collection sale
Iris was offered among works from the Schlumberger collection. The collection was presented publicly ahead of Sotheby’s October 22 sale, which included 28 works. 3
17 The painting’s result turned that single work into the defining event of the auction: a long-hidden Monet, returning to public view, became a record-setting sale for the French art market.
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Monet’s late painting Iris sold for €50 million including fees at Sotheby’s Paris on October 22, 2026—more than twice its €22–30 million estimate and a record for any artwork sold at auction in France.
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Monet’s late painting Iris sold for €50 million including fees at Sotheby’s Paris on October 22, 2026—more than twice its €22–30 million estimate and a record for any artwork sold at auction in France. The hammer fell at €43 million before fees, after a bidding contest reported as lasting 42 minutes by The New York Times and about 45 minutes by other outlets.