A Claude Monet painting titled
"Meule", part part of his famous grainstack series, was sold at
auction by Christie's in New York on
November 15, 2016 for 81.4 million dollars, a record for the French master.
The previous record was in June 2008 when "Bassin aux nympheas" ("Water Lilies") feched $
80.4 million at a sale in London. The final price, which includes fees and
commission, went way beyond Christie's pre-sale estimate of $45 million.
This painting, of just one haystack with a conical top, shown at twilight, is part of
the series of grainstacks painted by Monet during the winter of 1890-1891 from
his house in Giverny, Normandy. It was one of the rare works in this series to
still be in private hands, Christie's said.
Most of the others from this series are
in the Musee d'Orsay in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, or
the Art Institute of Chicago. This painting was acquired in September 1891 by
the Knoedler & Co. art gallery, which brought it to the United States.
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