Monet Painting Brings $80 Million at Auction

A water lily painting by impressionist master, Claude Monet was sold for more than $80 million at auction on Tuesday. This kicked of a week of modern art sales expected to reach records that defy the global economic downturn. This made it the most expensive work of art ever sold by the auction house in Europe. It was part of a four-work collection of water lily paintings that Monet put up for sale during his lifetime. He saw the oil paintings of his water garden as a cumulative work in progress and rarely sold them. They were signed and dated by the artist in l9l9. In l992, one of his other paintings sold for $12.1 million.