Sotheby's Paris will offer Claude Monet's Iris (1924–25) with an estimate of €22–30 million on 22 October 2026, as the centrepiece of La Collection Schlumberger. Le Temps retrouvé, an evening sale of 28 works beginning at 6 p.m. According to Sotheby's, no painting ever offered at auction in France has carried such a high estimate.

The monumental canvas, measuring 159.6 × 180 cm, has been hidden from public view for decades, making its reappearance one of the most watched moments of the Paris autumn season. A late work from the final years of Monet's career, it depicts the artist's beloved flower garden subjects on a scale that places it among his most ambitious late compositions.

The Schlumberger collection as a whole carries a combined estimate exceeding €40 million, with the Monet alone accounting for a substantial share of expectations. Alongside it, the sale includes works by Paul Cézanne, Gustave Courbet and Camille Claudel, framing the painting within a broader history of French collecting and taste.

The sale lands during Art Basel Paris week, when international collectors are concentrated in the French capital — timing the house will be hoping converts into competitive bidding. As ever with pre-sale announcements, an estimate, however spectacular, is not a result: only the bidding on Thursday evening will reveal how far the market is prepared to go for this rediscovered work. The Schlumberger name carries weight in French collecting circles, and the sale's timing — staged to coincide with Art Basel Paris, when the international art world descends on the capital — is designed to maximise competition. Whether the €30 million top estimate is reached will be the defining test of Paris's ambitions as a rival to London and New York for trophy consignments.