Monet, other art from big collectors lead auctions

Works from the estates of heiress Huguette Clark, Edgar Bronfman and other major collectors are among the highlights leading the spring art auctions in New York City, including a Monet painting that has been out of the public eye for decades.
The anticipated auction season begins today evening with the sale of impressionist and modern art at Christie's, which expects to raise a total of more than USD 245 million.
Among the top lots is Claude Monet's shimmering "Water Lilies." The 1907 work of Monet's beloved garden in Giverny, France, has not been publicly exhibited since 1926 and is estimated to sell for USD 25 million to USD 35 million.

The current Monet auction record is for "Water Lily Pond" from 1919, which brought USD 80.4 million in 2008.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir's "Young Women Playing Badminton" is another highlight, expected to sell for USD 10 million to USD 15 million.
His "Au Moulin de la Galette," painted in 1876, holds the auction record for the artist. It sold for USD 78 million in 1990.

Both works belonged to Clark, a Montana copper mining heiress who died at 104 in 2011. Her father, US Sen. William A. Clark, founded Las Vegas. Christie's is selling hundreds of items from her collection after a feud over her estate was settled in the fall. The auction house is scheduled to sell other pieces from the collection on June 18.

Also on tap at today's sale are two works appearing at auction for the first time, a work by Pablo Picasso and another by Wassily Kandinsky.
Picasso's 1942 portrait of his mistress in a purple dress titled "Portrait of Dora Maar" is estimated at USD 25 million to USD 35 million. The auction record for a Picasso is his "Nude, Green Leaves and Bust," which brought USD 106.5 million in 2010.
Kandinsky's 1909 abstract work "Beach Scene" has a presale estimate of USD 16 million to USD 22 million. The auction record for a work by the Russian-born artist is his "Study for Improvisation 8," which sold in 2012 for USD 23 million.

Both the Kandinsky and the Picasso come from the estate of German collectors Viktor and Marianne Langen.
The Christie's sale also includes works by Edgar Degas, Henri Matisse and Picasso from the collection of Bronfman, the late billionaire who led Seagram Co. And was a longtime president of the World Jewish Congress. Bronfman, a Canadian-American businessman, died late last year.