A Masterful Venice View from Claude Monet’s Only Excursion to the City
To Star in Sotheby’s Modern Evening Auction this May

Le Grand Canal et Santa Maria della Salute 
Stands Among the Finest Works Ever Created by the Modern Master and
Will be Unveiled to the Public for the First Time in 25 Years in Taipei

The Painting Will Return to its Birthplace in Celebration of the Venice Biennale,
For a One-Day-Only Public Exhibition on 20 April

NEW YORK, 25 March 2022 – More than 100 years following Claude Monet’s first and only visit to Venice, which produced a remarkable series of 37 paintings capturing the city’s inimitable views, Le Grand Canal et Santa Maria della Salute will return to the city on 20 April for a special exhibition at The Gritti Palace in celebration of the Venice Biennale, before appearing at auction as a star lot of Sotheby’s Modern Evening Auction in New York on 17 May.

Prior to its special presentation in Venice, Le Grand Canal will embark on a global tour, stopping first in Taipei, where, on 27 March, it will be unveiled to the public for the first time in 25 years, since it was last exhibited at the Kimbell Art Museum in 1997.

Executed in 1908, Le Grand Canal is a shimmering, luminescent view of the Grand Canal and Santa Maria della Salute, and stands as one of the finest works ever created by the artist, and the pinnacle of the series painted during the artist’s Venetian sojourn. A daring encapsulation of the traits that make Monet one of the most unique and visionary artistic voices of the twentieth century, Le Grand Canal showcases one of the most breathtaking views of the city of Venice in pure brushstrokes of color and light.

Returning to Venice for the first time on 20 April, Le Grand Canal will be displayed in the historic Gritti Palace, from where the view is almost exactly as depicted in the painting. It will be the centrepiece of Sotheby’s activities in the Venice during the opening of the Biennale, which will include a highly curated series of events and exhibition visits, and it will preside over as a splendid dinner in The Gritti Palace, co-hosted by Charles Stewart, Sotheby’s CEO, Brooke Lampley and Olivia Walton, newly-appointed chair of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. .

“Monet’s acclaimed series paintings are among the most immediately recognizable, and indeed desirable, paintings in the world. Among them, his views of Venice are perhaps the most spellbinding - channeling the magic of the city on canvas. The appearance of this exceptionally rare work at auction follows the great results achieved for modern masterpieces in our global salerooms over the past twelve months, and represents a wonderful opportunity for collectors looking for the best of the best.” Helena Newman, Sotheby’s Chairman, Europe, and Worldwide Head of Impressionist & Modern Art

Le Grand Canal will star in Sotheby’s May Modern Evening Sale where it is expected to achieve in the region of $50 million (estimate upon request). The offering follows a series of Monet masterworks that have sold in consecutive New York sales at Sotheby’s for more than $50 million: the exceptional $50.8 million result achieved at Sotheby’s last November for Monet’s Coin du bassin aux nymphéas from 1918, and Le Bassin aux nymphéas, which sold for $70.4 million in May 2021.

“Few artists have captured the popular imagination as strongly as Claude Monet, whose works continue to inspire awe for their beauty and perspective-shifting experimentation. Bathing the eternal City of Water in sublime light and iridescent pigment, Monet anticipated the lyrical abstractions and daring coloration which would define artistic progress in the second half of the twentieth century. His bold brushwork and palette allude to the later genius of artists like Rothko, Mitchell, Richter and Thiebaud, among the many heirs of Monet’s unparalleled legacy.” Julian Dawes, Sotheby’s Head of Modern Art, Americas