Christie's to sell Monet lilies, Picasso portrait

[June 05, 2010]  LONDON (AP) -- A water lily painting by Claude Monet and a portrait by Pablo Picasso are each expected to sell for 30 million pounds to 40 million pounds ($44 million to $59 million) at auction this month.

Christie's says Monet's 1906 "Nympheas" will be offered at a June 23 Impressionist and modern sale in London.

The sale also includes Picasso's Portrait of Angel Fernandez de Soto, which is being sold by Andrew Lloyd Webber's charitable foundation.

Works by Gustav Klimt and Henri Matisse are also part of the sale, which has a top total estimate 231 million pounds.

The art market is booming despite global economic uncertainty. Christie's Impressionist expert Giovanna Bertazzoni said Thursday there is "fierce international demand in the art market, particularly for the rarest and the best."

[Associated Press]

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