PARIS.- As international celebrations mark the centenary of Claude Monet's death, Christie's announced the auction of Bord des falaises à Pourville by Claude Monet, estimated at €11–15 million. Encouraged by his dealer Paul Durand-Ruel, Monet travelled to Pourville in 1882 for what would become one of the most prolific periods of his career. Part of a landmark series within the artist's oeuvre, Bord des falaises à Pourville is further distinguished by its exceptional provenance, having come directly from Paul Durand-Ruel's personal collection. The painting will undoubtedly be the highlight of Christie's forthcoming sale of the Durand-Ruel Collection in Paris. A unique opportunity to celebrate the special esteem in which the master of Giverny held the dealer who remains one of the most influential figures in the history of art dealing.

“There is only one person to whom I owe anything, and that is Durand-Ruel.” -- Claude Monet said to René Gimpel in November 1918.

In October, during Art Basel Paris week, Christie's will offer collectors from around the world 62 museum-quality works from the collection of the art dealer who played a decisive role in the rise and recognition of Impressionism. Preserved by the family of Paul Durand-Ruel until the present day, this remarkable group brings together works by Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro, Alfred Sisley, Gustave Loiseau and Henry Moret, offering a unique testament to Paul Durand-Ruel's vision and unwavering commitment to the artists he championed throughout his life.





The Durand-Ruel provenance ranks among the most significant and influential in the history of Impressionism. At a time when galleries and art professionals from around the world will gather in Paris, the sale will also provide an opportunity to celebrate a pivotal figure in the history of the profession. By pioneering the role of the modern art dealer as it is understood today, Paul Durand-Ruel laid the foundations of a profession essential to artists, artistic creation, and the history of art itself.

The highlight of the sale, Claude Monet's Bord des falaises à Pourville, will be offered with an estimate of €11–15 million. Painted during Monet's pivotal stay in Pourville-sur-Mer in 1882, this large-scale oil on canvas ranks among the artist's most remarkable depictions of the Norman coast. Comparable to works now held in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum Barberini, and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Bord des falaises à Pourville exemplifies Monet's enduring fascination with the landscapes of Normandy's shoreline. Admired by generations of Impressionist collectors for its exceptional artistic qualities, the painting is further distinguished by its outstanding provenance, having belonged first to the prominent collector Léon Clapusson and subsequently to Paul Durand-Ruel himself.