After settling in the village of Giverny, France, impressionist painter Claude Monet used the countryside surroundings as an inspiration for some of his most famous works. One of them is a series of paintings depicting stacks of wheat, which later became commonly referred to as Les Meules à Giverny in French or Haystacks in English.
One of the paintings from the Haystacks series is now set to be offered at an upcoming auction organized by Sotheby’s and is expected to sell for $30 million. It was created by Monet in 1893 and sold to an American painter Dwight Blaney in 1895. Blaney lent it to the Museum of Fine Art in Boston, Massachusetts.
Since then, the painting changed hands several times and was already the subject of an auction organized by Christie’s in 1983. It has been owned by the current seller since 2001.
This particular Haystacks painting will be part of the auction organized by Sotheby’s in honor of the 150th anniversary of the first Impressionist exhibition.
“Reflecting on the 150th anniversary of the very first Impressionist exhibition, we cannot take for granted how truly radical Monet was as a painter,” said Allegra Bettini, Head of Modern Evening Sale at Sotheby’s. “With his haystacks, the revolutionary ideas and techniques that initially defined Impressionism are expertly employed during a moment of significant transformation for the artist.”
It is estimated that Monet created around 30 paintings in the Haystacks series. They all depict the same subject through different light, atmosphere, seasons, and weather conditions. One of the Haystacks paintings from 1890 was sold for $110.7 million in 2019, setting the record for the most expensive work by Monet ever sold at an auction.
