Monet’s water lilies fetches $54 m at Sotheby’s

An iconic painting of water lilies by French artist Claude Monet sold for £31.72 million pounds ($54 million) at a Sotheby’s auction in London, the second highest price paid for his work worldwide, The Hindu reported.

“Nympheas (Water Lilies)”, which is among most celebrated paintings of turn of the century went to an anonymous bidder in last evening’s sale, a statement by auctioneers said.

The Impressionist and Modern Art sale raked in total sales of £122 million ($207,875,707) driven by bidding from Asia and Russia and sold 91.3 per cent by lots.

Monet, considered the founder of Impressionistic style of painting, executed the work at the famous lily pond in his garden in Givenchy. The water reflects the skies’ shifting hues and the lilies themselves are elegant touches of paint.

The painting was sourced from the personal collection of French art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel has been displayed in the world’s top art galleries, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Musee National d’Art Moderne in Paris.