Claude Monet's water lily painting expected to fetch 40m pounds at auction

London, June 4 (ANI): A painting of water lilies by French impressionist Claude Monet is expected to fetch up to 40 million pounds when it is auctioned off in London.

The painting, dating back a century and from his most famous series of works, will be part of the most valuable art auction yet to take place in the city later this month.

Monet's 1906 painting Nympheas was one of many he painted in his water garden at Giverny with the pond and lilies depicted in often-huge scale.

It is the largest of nine surviving works from that year, and it is one of only five, which formed part of his famed display of monumental water lilies at the Musee de l'Orangerie in Paris in 1909.

A rare study for that exhibition sold for 41 million pounds in London in 2008, a new world record for a Monet.

Nympheas was in the family of one collector for several decades and was bought by the present owner at auction at Christie's New York in May 2000. It is expected to sell for between 30 million pounds and 40 million pounds.

"Claude Monet's water-lily paintings are amongst the most recognised and celebrated works of the 20th century, and were hugely influential to many of the following generations of artists," the Telegraph quoted Giovanna Bertazzoni, director and head of impressionist and modern art at Christies, London, as saying.

The impressionist and modern art at Christie's sale also features a "blue period" Picasso, also tipped to go for up to 40 million pounds, after being withdrawn from sale four years ago.

Together with works by Magritte, Klimt and Van Gogh, the sale on June 23 is expected to raise between 160 million pounds and 230 million pounds.It is extremely exciting that with this work, the blue period Picasso, Klimt's portrait of Ria Munk and Van Gogh's 1889 masterpiece, we will be presenting at auction celebrated works from the most formative years of four of the most important and influential artists of the last century," Bertazzoni added.

The Picasso, which is to be sold, Portrait of Angel Fernandez de Soto, is from the collection of Lord Lloyd-Webber and was dropped from a New York sale at the last moment due to an ownership claim.

The dispute, which dated back to a sale in the 1930s, has now been settled and Christie's said the claimants had "withdrawn all claims to the painting".

Sale of the 1903 Picasso will benefit the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation, a charity that promotes arts, culture and heritage. (ANI)