Claude Monet's painting “Water Lilies” will top Christie's evening sale of 20th and 21st century works at its new Asian headquarters in Hong Kong on September 26, when it will be offered at auction for the first time. Titled “Water Lilies (1897-99),” the work has an estimated price of HK$200 million to HK$280 million (US$25 million to US$35 million), making it one of the most valuable works of Western art ever offered at auction in Asia.
Christie's said the painting, which depicts the water lily pond at Monet's home in Giverny, France, was one of Monet's first paintings of such an iconic subject and remained in Monet's family for many years after his death in 1926. It was donated to the Monet home from a private collection.
“Nymphaeus” will be the centerpiece of the sale, along with Zao Wou-Ki's abstract “05.06.80-Triptych (1980),” which is being held at the auction house's new Zaha Hadid Architects-designed headquarters in Henderson, and is estimated at HK$78 million to HK$128 million (US$10 million to US$15 million).
The Henderson in Hong Kong, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects for Henderson Land. Rendering by Cosmocube, courtesy of Christie's.
Auction houses have been cultivating a market for top Western art in Asia for more than a decade, starting with private sales and exhibition sales. Western Impressionist and Modern works have been offered at live auctions in the region with increasing frequency in recent years, but works with price tags in the tens of millions of dollars remain rare.
The decision to auction Monet's work, along with Christie's plans to open a new headquarters, can be interpreted as a statement of confidence in the region.
Sotheby's and Bonhams are also opening new Asian flagship stores in Hong Kong this year, while Phillips has already expanded its footprint in the region, having opened its new Asian headquarters in Hong Kong's West Kowloon district last year.
The auction house's bet on Asia comes amid a general art market downturn, and it remains to be seen whether it will pay off. In recent years, some major Western artworks have sold for less than expected. Last year, when Sotheby's auctioned the collection of the founder of Shanghai's Long Art Museum, Amedeo Modigliani's 1919 painting “Paulette Jourdan” was expected to fetch around $45 million before fees, but only fetched $34.8 million with fees. In 2022, Christie's offered Monet's painting “Burning Chest” (1918-19) in Hong Kong with a low estimate of HK$95 million ($12 million), but it failed to find a buyer.
The most expensive Western art ever sold in Asia is Jean-Michel Basquiat's 1982 painting “The Warrior,” which sold for HK$323.6 million ($41.7 million) including fees at a Christie's Hong Kong auction in 2021, according to the Artnet price database.
The most expensive work of art ever sold at auction in Asia was Zao Wou-key's 33-foot-long triptych “June-October 1985,” which sold for HK$510 million ($65.2 million) at Sotheby's Hong Kong in 2018.
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