Christie’s will auction Claude Monet‘s Peupliers au bord de l’Epte, crépuscule (1891) during its marquee evening sales in New York next month, where the painting will hit the block with a $30 million–$50 million estimate.
The Impressionist’s image of poplar trees at sunset has been with the same family collection for 60 years. It was first owned by legendary dealer Paul Durand-Ruel, who acquired it in 1892 and whose family retained ownership until 1955.
“For a painting painted so many years ago, the number of owners is so small. I mean, we often have longer provenance listings for things that were painted just 30 years ago, 50 years ago,” Vanessa Fusco, head of Impressionist and modern art at Christie’s New York, told ARTnews.
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Prior to the consignment, Peupliers au bord de l’Epte, crépuscule was on display at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston for more than three decades; Fusco first saw it there. It was also loaned to institutions across Europe and the US.
The painting measures more than three feet tall and is one of 24 canvases from Monet’s “Peupliers” series, created during the spring, summer, and fall of 1891 in the northern French village of Giverny.
Fusco also sold Peupliers au bord de l’Epte, automne from the collection of Anne H. Bass, which went for $36.5 million including fees in May 2022 at Christie’s New York. And last November, Peupliers au bord de l’Epte, temps couvert sold for $30.8 million at Sotheby’s New York. Both works also had low estimates of $30 million.
In comparison to those two works, and Four Trees at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Fusco said Peupliers au bord de l’Epte, crépuscule has “incredible atmosphere,” thanks to Monet’s use of pinks, purples and blues.
“It is so hard to get an accurate photograph of the layering and density of color and paint that he uses,” Fusco said. “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.”
Fusco also believes Peupliers au bord de l’Epte, crépuscule could set a new record at auction for the “Peupliers” series. It will be first unveiled in Taipei on April 19, representing a strategic decision by Christie’s.
“Taipei, in particular, has really had strong interest in classic Impressionism,” Fusco said. “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.”