technology news: Monet work bequeathed by heiress

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Monet work bequeathed by heiress

Ms Clark chose to live in hospitals rather than her lavish homes in the US during the latter part of her life

A Monet painting kept out of public view for 86 years has been donated to a US gallery by a reclusive heiress.

Part of the artist's Water Lilies series, worth $25m (£15m), was left to the Corcoran Gallery by Huguette Clark, who died last month aged 104.

The Corcoran has a gallery which bears the name of her father Senator William A Clark, who died the same year the painting was created in 1925.

Ms Clark bequeathed a proportion of her $400m (£250m) fortune to the arts.

She stipulated that a foundation to foster the arts would be established after her death, while her oceanfront home in California will become a museum housing her collection of art treasures.

Ms Clark had not been to the property since the death of her mother in 1963.

Monet created around 250 oil paintings as part of his Water Lillies series.

The works, which are displayed all over the world, depict the French Impressionist master's flower garden.

One of Claude Monet's works, Le Bassin aux Nympheas

One of Monet's other works, Le Bassin aux Nympheas, sold for almost £41 million

Last year one of Monet's Water Lillies works sold for $24.7 million (£15.4m) at an auction in New York.

The current auction record for a Monet stands at $25.5 million (£41m).

Le Bassin Aux Nympheas was sold at Christie's in London, in June 2008.

Ms Clark, who chose to live in hospitals rather than her homes in New York and California during the latter part of the life, also bequeathed sums to her nurse and a handful of close associates.

The heiress to a copper, timber and railroad fortune had no children and shunned the trappings of wealth in favour of a quiet and understated lifestyle, which included tending to an extensive doll collection.

This article is from the BBC News website. ? British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.