Full Breakdown
Monet’s “Iris” Set to Test French Auction Records as Schlumberger Family Reveals Private Collection
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Auction Event
Sotheby’s will conduct a Paris auction on October 22 featuring Claude Monet’s late-period canvas “Iris”, a work that has never been exhibited publicly. The painting is part of a 28-lot sale of the Schlumberger family collection, which also includes three additional Monet canvases, three Paul Cézanne works and several pieces by other modern masters. Sotheby’s estimates a hammer price of €22 million to €30 million for “Iris.”
Background & Context
The sale coincides with the centenary of Monet’s death (December 5 1926), marked by two Paris exhibitions—*Monet, Painting Time* and *Stories of Landscapes*—opening in late September. The works are being shown in Hong Kong and New York before the Paris sale.
Jeanne Schlumberger (1889-1983), wife of Marcel Schlumberger, assembled a major Impressionist and Modern art collection. In 1958, she used her Paris home as collateral to help dealer Katia Granoff purchase the studio holdings of Monet’s son Michel, gaining access to a group of late-Giverny paintings that now form the core of the family’s Monet holdings.
Key Figures & Groups
- Jeanne Schlumberger – French industrial heiress and collector.
- Thomas Bompard – Sotheby’s France co-head of modern and contemporary art, overseeing the sale.
- Katia Granoff – Mid-century Parisian dealer who introduced Jeanne to Monet’s late works.
- SLB (formerly Schlumberger) – Global oil-services company now valued at roughly $78 billion, providing the family’s financial foundation.
Timeline
- 1950s – Jeanne begins collecting with Granoff.
- 1958 – Financing of Granoff’s acquisition of Monet son’s studio holdings.
- September 17 – Sotheby’s announces the upcoming Paris auction.
- October 22 – Auction of the Schlumberger collection, including “Iris.”
Data & Statistics
- “Iris”: estimated €22 million–€30 million; largest Monet Iris ever offered at auction.
- “Saule Pleureur”: estimated €9 million–€12 million.
- Total expected proceeds: > €40 million for the 28-lot sale.
- Cézanne’s “La Ferme”: estimated €600 k–€800 k; largest Cézanne work ever offered at auction.
- Cézanne fresco panels: starting estimates €400 k each, designated *trésors nationaux*.
- Historical benchmark: the highest price previously paid for a Monet Iris was £10 at a 2015 London auction.
Official Statements & Responses
Bompard noted that the paintings are in pristine condition, reducing the need for guarantees, and emphasized the strong market demand for Monet’s late works.
Why It Matters
If “Iris” reaches the top of its estimate, it would set a new record for the highest price ever paid for a painting at auction in France, highlighting the appetite for Monet’s later, more abstract canvases. The sale also brings a historically private collection into public view, offering scholars and collectors unprecedented access to works that have reshaped the reassessment of Monet’s final artistic phase.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
No independent verification of a prior record is provided, leaving the claim unconfirmed until the auction outcome is known.
What’s Next
- October 22 – Auction of the Schlumberger collection at Sotheby’s Paris.
- Late September – Opening of the two Monet-focused exhibitions in Paris commemorating the 100th anniversary of his death.
- February 25 – June 27 2027 – Tate Modern in London will present a major Monet exhibition, further spotlighting the artist’s late works.