Next month, Claude Monet’s 1891 landscape Peupliers au bord de l’Epte, crépuscule will hit the auction block at Christie’s New York. The iconic Impressionist’s painting of a poplar tree-lined riverbank at sunset carries a pre-sale estimate of $30 million to $50 million.
Monet to Headline May’s Marquee Auctions
The painting offered by Christie’s is one of 24 works from Claude Monet‘s Les Peupliers series, which the artist created during the spring, summer, and fall of 1891 in Giverny, the Normandy village that inspired some of his most famous compositions. The series was inspired by a row of eight poplar trees growing along the banks of the Epte River near his home, which he characteristically captured in various seasons and conditions.
Today, nine of the 24 Les Peupliers paintings belong to museum collections. According to Christie’s, the rendition headlining next month’s evening sales is “particularly remarkable” for its “dreamlike quality of vibrating and shifting light” during the transition from day to night.
Vanessa Fusco, head of Impressionist and modern art at Christie’s New York, noted the “incredible atmosphere” of the painting achieved by Monet’s handling of pink, purple, and blue hues. “It is so hard to get an accurate photograph of the layering and density of color and paint that he uses,” explained Fusco. “When you stand in front of it, this is one that is quite transporting, both for the coloration and also the scale. It has this great verticality, which really mimics the composition of the poplar tree.”
Christie’s to Exhibit Monet Painting in Taipei Before New York Sales
Peupliers au bord de l’Epte, crépuscule was first owned by the famous French art dealder Paul Durand-Ruel, who acquired it from the artist in 1892. The Monet painting then remained in his family’s collection until 1955. Before it was consigned to Christie’s, the painting was on view at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston for 30 years, during which time it was also loaned to institutions across the United States and Europe.
Ahead of May’s marquee evening sales in New York, Christie’s will unveil the Monet painting for the first time on April 19 at its outpost in Taipei, Taiwan. Fusco explained the strategy behind the auction house’s plans, saying, “Taipei, in particular, has really had strong interest in classic Impressionism. We have seen strong bidding coming from clients in that region for Monet and Impressionist pictures. And we expect that we’ll see a lot of the Western clients having the opportunity to view the work in person.”
