Impressionist works to be auctioned in Paris

Some 60 museum-level works by artists such as Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir and Pablo Picasso collected by a dealer who popularised the Impressionists will be auctioned in Paris in October, Christie's said Monday.

"These works, acquired directly from Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, or Sisley, have been kept in the same family for more than a century and are being brought together today for the first time on the market," the auction house said in a statement.

A visionary dealer, Paul Durand-Ruel championed the Impressionists who were initially criticised for an avant-garde style used to capture light.

The works he acquired were exhibited in Paris, London, and New York, helping to popularise the movement and the artists.

The collection "Durand-Ruel. Generations of Vision" will be exhibited at Christie’s in Paris from October 16th to 21st, then offered at auction on October 22nd during Art Basel, the international modern and contemporary art event.

Its total estimate ranges between €30.4 and €43.4 million, Christie's said.

The works on offer include "Edge of the Cliffs at Pourville" by Claude Monet (1882), estimated at between €11 and €15 million.

Capturing the beauty of the Normandy cliffs, it was bought by Durand-Ruel the year it was painted, then exhibited in London in 1905 at an event that helped to establish Impressionism on the international stage, Christie’s said.

The collection also includes "Young Girls by the Seaside" by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, "The Louvre, Winter Sun, Morning" by Camille Pissarro, and "Still Life with Gruyere" by Pablo Picasso.