Christie's Brings $30 m Monet Waterloo Bridge Back to London

More art by Claude Monet was sold in New York’s May sales than trades in even the biggest years for the artist. A full $310 million was traded for Monet paintings last month. That’s more than sold in 2019, a banner year for the artist. Though only a few of the works were bid above the estimates, one of the most prominent works sold in May was Anne Bass’s view of the Houses of Parliament painted by Monet during a sojourn at the Savoy hotel in London during 1904. The Bass painting made $75.9 million. 

That makes the view of Waterloo Bridge that Christie’s announced today look like a huge bargain. Waterloo Bridge, effet de brume will be a highlight of Christie’s 20/21 London to Paris sale series, offered in the 20^th / 21^st Century: London Evening Sale on 28 June. It depicts the Thames under a sunlit haze and is being sold without a published estimate but guidance in the region of £24 million ($30 million.)

Last May, Christie’s sold another of the Waterloo Bridge series from 1899 for $48,450,000.

This work was bought by Arde Bulova at auction in 1939 and is being sold by his heirs. The provenance also includes Paul Durand-Ruel, Adolph Lewisohn and the D.P. Allen Memorial Art Museum, at Oberlin College in Ohio.

The current art market prizes Monet’s series paintings. The London series includes 41 images of Waterloo Bridge that Monet painted between 1899-1904, 26 are in public institutions, including The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo; Bührle Foundation, Zürich; Art Institute of Chicago; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. and Kunstmuseum Bern. Waterloo Bridge, effet de brume was most recently on long term loan to the Kunstmuseum Basel.