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Meules, Claude Monet’s 1890 haystack painting, is the highest-priced Monet identified in the public auction results covered here: it sold for $110,747,000 at Sotheby’s New York on 14 May 2019. The ranking below orders eight reported auction results by price, using auction-house figures and naming each sale date and house. It combines Sotheby’s artist-results table, which covers 2018 through the first half of 2023, with earlier Christie’s sale records; it is not a complete census of every Monet auction.
What is the most expensive Monet painting ever sold?
Meules holds the top place in these reported public auction results. Sotheby’s says the 14 May 2019 sale broke Monet’s previous auction record. The painting, dated 1890, sold for $110,747,000 at Sotheby’s New York. Sotheby’s ranking continues to place it first.
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The eight highest reported auction results
The list is ranked by the reported dollar result, not by sale date. Sotheby’s overview rounds some entries to the nearest tenth of a million or whole million; those figures remain at Sotheby’s stated precision rather than being presented as exact dollar amounts. Christie’s reported exact dollar totals for its listed sales.
| Rank | Painting and date | Reported price | Auction house, location and sale date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meules (1890) | $110,747,000 | Sotheby’s, New York — 14 May 2019 |
| 2 | Nymphéas en fleur (c. 1914–1917) | $84,687,500 | Christie’s, New York — 8 May 2018 |
| 3 | Meule (Grainstack) (1891) | $81,447,500 | Christie’s, New York — 16 November 2016 |
| 4 | Le bassin aux nymphéas (1919) | $80,451,178 (also reported as £40,921,250 and €51,683,539) | Christie’s, London — 24 June 2008 |
| 5 | Le Parlement, soleil couchant (1903) | $76 million | Christie’s, New York — 12 May 2022 |
| 6 | Le bassin aux nymphéas (1919) | $70.4 million | Sotheby’s, New York — 12 May 2021 |
| 7 | Waterloo Bridge, soleil voilé (1903) | $64.5 million | Christie’s, New York — 9 November 2022 |
| 8 | Le Grand Canal et Santa Maria della Salute (1908) | $56.6 million | Sotheby’s, New York — 17 May 2022 |
The two differently named Le bassin aux nymphéas entries are separate reported sales of paintings with the same title and year: Christie’s London in 2008 and Sotheby’s New York in 2021. The earlier result ranks higher because its reported dollar amount is greater; the 2008 figure is Christie’s reported amount, not a currency conversion recalculated for this list.
#1 Best Overall
What the prices reveal about Monet’s auction leaders
Haystacks set the two highest benchmarks
The first- and third-ranked results are from Monet’s Grainstack or Haystacks series. Christie’s identifies Brooke Lampley, its Head of Impressionist and Modern Art, New York, as describing the series this way: “Monet’s Grainstack is the culmination of 25 canvases painted of the same subject in varying light and weather conditions over many months between 1890 and 1891.” Christie’s 2016 sale record reports the $81,447,500 result for Meule (Grainstack).
Water scenes and city views also feature prominently
Water Lilies appear in three placements, counting the two separate sales of Le bassin aux nymphéas and Nymphéas en fleur. London’s Houses of Parliament and Waterloo Bridge account for two more, while Venice’s Grand Canal supplies the eighth-ranked work. The range reflects the recurring subjects represented among these high public results, not a ranking of Monet’s series by artistic importance.
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How to read this ranking
Sotheby’s “Top 10 artworks sold at auction” table is limited to sales from 2018 through the first half of 2023; it does not by itself establish a lifetime list. The 2016 and 2008 Christie’s results are included here because their reported prices exceed some more recent sales. Sotheby’s table’s next Monet results are Nymphéas at $56.5 million and Coin du bassin aux nymphéas at $50.8 million, both below the eighth-place sale.
Quick Recap
Best Value
Rank #4
- Height: 10.75in / 27cm, Depth: 2in / 5cm, Width: 8.75in / 22cm
- By Daniel Wildenstein
- Hardcover
- 588 pages
- Imprint: Taschen
Rank #3
- These are public auction results, not estimates or private-sale prices.
- The list is assembled from Sotheby’s 2018–first-half-2023 overview and earlier Christie’s records, rather than a forensic census of all Monet auctions.
- Dollar amounts and precision follow the cited auction-house reporting. In particular, the 2008 Christie’s result is shown in dollars as Christie’s reported it.
Sources
- Sotheby’s, “The 10 Most Expensive Monet Paintings Ever Sold” — overview table and the 2019 Meules result.
- Christie’s, 2016 Meule (Grainstack) sale record.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
