H ighlighting Sotheby’s Impressionist & Modern Art Evening sale this May is one of the most exquisite examples of Claude Monet’s Nymphéas series to come to market in recent history. Painted in 1917-19, Le Bassin aux nymphéas comes from the artist’s legacy-defining late body of work and heralds the dawn of Modernism in its increasingly abstract handling. The monumental painting is joined by an alluring floral still life and a historic landscape by the Impressionist master as well as an exemplary still life by Paul Cézanne. One of the finest examples in private hands, Nature Morte: pommes et poires encapsulates the pioneering trajectory of artistry in the late nineteenth century.

These era-defining paintings are joined by a suite of exquisite works on paper including a rich and luminous pastel Danseuse by Edgar Degas, two gouaches by the Expressionist master Egon Schiele and a trio of lyrical works from Pablo Picasso’s late oeuvre. Augmented by Childe Hassam’s exuberant Flags on 57^th Street, Winter 1918 and a stunning oil portrait by Diego Rivera, this season’s sale charts the revolutionary progression of figuration from the early days of the avant-garde to the modern era.