Private Monet collection up for auction

Blanche Hoschedé Monet - La maison de Monet à Giverny [Photo provided to China Daily]

A private collection amassed by Claude Monet, which includes both his own paintings and works by other artists, will go to auction in Hong Kong on Nov 26.

The assembly of sketches, drawings, watercolors and oil paintings owned by the French artist's family are scheduled to go on sale at Christie's salesroom.

Aside from the impressionist master's own works, the collection will also feature works by friends of Monet such as Eugene Boudin and August Rodin.

Also due to go under the hammer are several pieces from Monet's private collection of 231 Japanese lithographs. Monet collected prints by 36 Japanese artists from the 18th and 19th centuries, with a particular focus on Katsushika Hokusai, Utagawa Hiroshige and Kitagawa Utamaro.

The sale will also auction off some of Monet's personal possessions such as a photo of him taken in 1915 by French stage actor Sacha Guitry in Giverny, where Monet lived for 43 years and painted many of his most works featuring flowers and water gardens.

A selection of works from the collection will be exhibited in Beijing, Shanghai and New York from early November ahead of the auction.