Two exceptional Claude Monet paintings, hidden from the public eye for over 100 years, are set to headline Sotheby’s Modern and Contemporary Sale in Paris this April, per artnet.com. Estimated to fetch a combined total of up to $15 million, the works represent the most significant offering by the Impressionist master in France for over two decades.
The first work, Les Îles de Port-Villez (1883), captures the rugged islands of the Seine shortly after Monet settled in Giverny. Painted from his custom-built studio boat, the canvas displays a raw, energetic style that predates his later, more refined water lily series. This specific piece has remained in a single private collection since 1905 and was previously known to historians only through a grainy, black-and-white photograph from the 1950s.
Joining it is Vétheuil, Effet du Matin (1901), a later work that showcases Monet’s technical evolution. By the turn of the century, the artist had swapped his riverboat for a chauffeured Panhard & Levassor, allowing him to seek out higher vantage points along the riverbanks. This painting, part of a celebrated series of 15, offers a sophisticated balance of atmospheric haze and delicate detail, such as the rhythmic oars of a distant boatman.
Sotheby’s experts note that the appearance of such well-preserved works is an extreme rarity in the current market. Most of Monet’s output from these periods is held in permanent museum collections, making the April 16 auction a pivotal moment for international collectors seeking a direct link to the heights of French Impressionism.
•Featured image: Claude Monet, Les Îles de Port-Villez (c. 1883). Photo courtesy Sotheby’s Paris.
