Claude Monet’s Nymphéas (1914–17) led Sotheby’s fall evening auctions on November 18th, fetching $65.5 million after a 17-minute bidding battle. The evening, which totaled $309 million, was split into two auctions: the Sydell Miller Collection and the modern evening auction. All prices include fees.
The Sydell Miller Collection, featuring the works from the estate of beauty-industry mogul Sydell Miller, who passed away in March at 86, achieved a “white glove” sale in which all lots were sold, amassing $216 million in total. More than half of the lots exceeded their estimated values.
Monet’s Nymphéas is a prime example of the artist’s depictions of water lilies that were a fixture of his career. This sale is among the highest prices achieved at auction for a work from Monet’s later “Nymphéas” works. On September 26th, another work from this series set a regional record for the artist in Asia, selling for $29.9 million at Christie’s in Hong Kong.
The second most expensive lot from the collection sale was Pablo Picasso’s La Statuaire (1925), which sold for $24.8 million after remaining in the Sydell Miller collection for 25 years.
Meanwhile, the modern evening auction contributed $92.9 million to the evening’s total and was led by Alberto Giacometti’s Buste (Tête tranchante) (Diego) (1954), which sold for $13.3 million.
A standout from the sale was Leonora Carrington’s La Grande Dame (1951), which sold for $11.4 million, setting a new auction record for a sculpture by the artist and marking the second-highest auction price overall. Another work by Carrington, Temple of the Word (1954), sold for $4.56 million— also set the third highest price for a work by the artist at auction. This follows Sotheby’s record-breaking sale of Les Distractions de Dagobert (1945) in May, which sold for $28.5 million.
Coinciding with the 100th anniversary of Surrealism, the auction also underscored the growing prominence of women surrealists. Along with the Carrington sales, Leonor Fini’s Les stylistes (1976) sold for $720,000. The last time the work was sold at auction, it fetched $130,000 at Sotheby’s London in 2007. Also notable was Remedios Varo’s Los Caminos tortuosos (1958), which sold for $2.04 million, achieving an auction record for a work on paper by the artist.
Following Monet’s Nymphéas, the top lots of the night overall were:
- Picasso’s La Statuaire sold for $24.8 million.
- Wassily Kandinsky’s Weisses Oval (White Oval) (1921) sold for $21.6 million. It was last sold by Sotheby’s in 1971 for $105,000.
- Yves Klein’s Relief Éponge bleu sans titre, (RE 28) (1961) sold for $14.23 million.
- Giacometti’s Buste (Tête tranchante) (Diego) (1954) sold for $13.3 million.
- François-Xavier Lalanne’s Troupeau d’Éléphants dans les Arbres (2001) sold for $11.6 million against an estimate of $4 million–$6 million.
- Henry Moore’s Reclining Mother and Child (1975–76) sold for $11.6 million.
