Asia could replace Europe as the top destination for art lovers to view Monet masterpieces
Beijing and not Paris may soon be the place for art lovers to see Monet masterpieces, with Sotheby's revealing bids for his paintings from Asian collectors have increased 300 per cent.
Five of the French Impressionist’s canvases are going on sale for a combined estimate of £35 million, auctioneers have announced, as they seek to cater to a booming demand in the Far East for “blue chip” European artworks.
Sotheby’s figures reveal the proportion of global bids made by Asian collectors for Claude Monet’s work has quadrupled from 12 per cent of total bids in 2019, to 48 per cent in 2021.
Experts believe the taste for his works, which has resulted in the £17.7 million Le Bassin Aux Nympheas, les Rosiers and a £19.8 million Nympheas painting being bought by Chinese buyers in recent years, will eventually make Asian cities must-visit destinations for lovers of Impressionism when collectors begin to show off their works in museums.
Thomas Boyd-Bowman, head Impressionist and Modern Art evening sales at Sotheby’s, said: “Traditionally we have had buyers in America and Europe buying with a view to placing works in museums.
“At the moment, enjoying these artworks in Asia may be the privilege of collectors - but in time it is almost certainly going to become a place to travel to in order to view Monet works.”
He explained that the five Monet works on sale, which show off his abstract side, match the modern tastes of a younger generation of collectors who are increasingly driving the demand for art in Asia.
Mr Boyd-Bowman said that for this new generation Monet is a symbol of taste like “expensive whisky or Western consumer goods”, and in terms of Impressionism he “signifies what they feel to be the apogee of the European art movement”.
He added: “Monet has always defined Impressionism. He’s the leader of the pack.”
Five works - all currently owned by one American collector - are set to go on sale in London, with the auction, including an 1897 depiction of chrysanthemums, projected to achieve £10 million to £15 million, and an 1894 image of grainstacks near his Monet’s Giverny home, also estimated to achieve between £10 million and £15 million.
Also going under the hammer are an 1893 painting of an ice flow on the Seine valued between £5 million and £7 million, an 1897 landscape of the Norman coast expected to achieve between 3.5 million and £5 million, and an 1882 still life of plums and apricots worth up to £1.8 million.
The sale, predicted to attract interest from buyers based in countries including China and Japan, follows the success of other Impressionist sales, including a 2017 auction which saw Asian collectors secure Monet’s Les Arceaux de roses for £14 million, and his study of lake ice for £19.5 million.
The evening auction is set to take place on March 2.
