Monet Painting Fetches $80.4 Million at Auction

During a summer auction at Christie's in London, one of the largest London sales the auction house has ever held, a Claude Monet painting set a record winning bid at $80.4 million, the New York Times reports.

Monet's 1919 painting, "Le Bassin aux Nympheas," which had been expected to sell for $36 to $47 million, was won by Tania Buckrell Pos, a representative for an unknown client from a London company. The previous record was set in a New York auction last month, when "The Railroad Bridge at Argenteuil" fetched $41.4 million.

The painting had previously belonged to J. Irwin Miller and Xenia S. Miller, collectors from Columbus, Indiana. Mr. Miller died in 2004, while Mrs. Miller died in February.