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F o r e w o r d

The present report surveys Claude Monet’s Water Lilies auction market from January 2004 to

December 2023. It exclusively features sales of paintings listed in the artist’s catalogue raisonné

and focuses solely on paintings featuring water lilies as the primary subject, omitting examples

depicting the Japanese bridge. Given that the value of the US$ changes over time and that

US$1 in 2004 is not equivalent to US$1 in 2023, the prices mentioned in this report have been

adjusted for inf lation using the December 2023 US CPI-U index (consumer price index) unless

stated otherwise. This method allows us to reasonably compare auction sales data over 20

years by adding the ef fects of price inf lation on all such prices from their sale to December

2023. Sales prices include buyer’s premium, but pre-sale estimates do not.

Repeat sales were considered when one of the occurrences took place after January 1, 2004.

Where there are several repeat sales for an artwork, the CAGR is calculated between every

occurrence. The information contained in this report has been analysed by ArtExplored and is

based on ArtExplored proprietary data. Sales details for these works can be found in the annex

at the end of this report.

LIST OF TERMS USED IN THIS REPORT:

Lots of fered: Artworks of fered for sale at auction.

Lots sold: Artworks successfully sold at auction.

Sell-through rate: The percentage of lots sold compared to the number of lots of fered.

Average price: The mean price of the lots sold.

Repeat sales: The number of times that an artwork was resold at auction. If an artwork was sold

twice, it counts as one repeat sale. If it was sold three times, it counts as two repeat sales, etc.

CAGR: The Compound Annual Growth Rate is the annualized average rate of return achieved

by an artwork over a specif ic holding period. It can be calculated when there are repeat sales

involved.

Average CAGR: The mean CAGR achieved by all repeat sales.

Pre-sale estimates: The price range within which a lot is expected to sell at auction. It is

communicated by the auction house prior to a sale but is often not publicly disclosed for higher-

value artworks. (e.g. $20M - $40M)

Pre-sale mid-estimate: The average of the low and high estimates. (e.g. $30M)

Price to midestimate ratio The relation between a the achieved auction sale price and b

the presale midestimate This ratio expresses as a percentage the dif ference between the

auction sale price and the presale midestimate of a work over its presale midestimate

It serves as an indicator of the extent to which a sale price has exceeded or fallen short of its

estimate

eg Sales price Presale midestimate Presale midestimate Price to midestimate

ratio So for a 40M sales price and a 30M midestimate 40M 30M 30M 33

Buyers premium The additional fees that the buyer will pay on top of the hammer price the

winning bid at auction

Withdrawn from auction This means that a lot was removed for sale by the vendor or the

auction house prior to the auction

Methodology

We have received a lot of feedback on our first Artist Report

featuring Francis Bacon, which has inspired us to explore new

approaches and formats to better serve our audience.

In our review of the 2023 art market, we have scrutinised

leading artists who generated the highest sales revenue at

auction. Analysing their top 10 records, we have identified

prevailing traits that underpin our new Focus Report series.

This series features artists such as Pablo Picasso, Jean-Michel

Basquiat, Gerhard Richter, and Claude Monet.

As 2024 commemorates the 150th anniversary of Impressionism,

we are first focusing on Claude Monet. The renowned French

painter was one of the founding members of this revolutionary

pictorial movement, named after his painting Impression,

Sunrise (1872).

This Focus Report examines the market of one of Monet’s

most celebrated series: the Water Lilies. These paintings are

among the most valuable pieces in the art market, with very

few available for sale each year. We invite you to delve into

our analysis to understand the auction history and the value of

these iconic works of art.

Start exploring

Fabian Svarnas

on behalf of the ArtExplored team

editorial@artexploredcom