Pierre-Auguste Renoir Value: Top Prices Paid at Auction

Renoir's current auction record was set when Au Moulin De La Galette (1876) sold at Sotheby's New York in May 1990. This canvas is a smaller version of the masterpiece now housed in the Musée d'Orsay, capturing the vibrant atmosphere of the popular Montmartre dance garden. It exemplifies both the dappled light and busy Parisian social scenes that Renoir is known for. His mastery comes in the form of imbuing complex, layered, formal human interactions with a lightness and colour that appears natural and effortless. The work's exceptional provenance included John Hay Whitney, former US Ambassador to the United Kingdom, whose collection was considered one of the finest in private hands. Whitney purchased the painting in 1929 for $165,000 - equivalent to around $3,300,000 today - but its 1990 sale to Japanese businessman Ryoei Saito was the real watershed moment for the art market, breaking records for any Impressionist work at the time.

This double portrait sold at Christie's New York in May 2022. It depicts Renoir’s close friend and fellow Impressionist painter Berthe Morisot, and her daughter (whose father was Édouard Manet's brother Eugène), in an intimate composition that highlights Renoir's exceptional ability to capture personality through portraiture. Created five years after Eugène Manet's death, the portrait reflects the close friendship between the artists during Morisot's widowhood. The piece was gifted to Berthe, and then passed down to Julie after Berthe’s death. The work’s appeal for collectors in 2022 comes not just from its personal significance to the artist and its rich exhibition history across Europe, the US, and Asia, but also its clear demonstration of the more defined brushstrokes and richer palette that are characteristic of Renoir’s later works.

Dans Les Roses (1882) achieved this impressive result at Sotheby's New York in May 2003 and is one of Renoir's most accomplished garden portraits. The painting depicts Madame Marie Henriette Valentine Billet Clapisson, commissioned by her husband, Paris stockbroker Louis Léon Clapisson. However, neither Renoir nor Clapisson was happy with this initial portrait, so another was attempted the following year, this time with a much more formal composition and colour palette. The painting was created soon after Renoir’s travels in Italy, which prompted a development in his painterly approach, away from Impressionism and towards a more classical style with structured elements. The meticulous rendering of the floral setting and the sitter's elegant pose exemplify Renoir's career-long fascination with using nature to enhance the intimacy of his depictions of women.

This atmospheric landscape sold at Christie's London in February 2019, for £1million more than its high estimate. It depicts the Forest of Fontainebleau, a favourite location of the pre-Impressionist Barbizon School artists, around 40 miles southeast of Paris. Renoir painted this piece at the height of Impressionism's development, just as the group’s first independent exhibitions were taking place; as such, Sentier Dans Le Bois (c.1874-77) is one of the purest examples of Renoir's mastery of dappled light filtering through trees - a recurrent motif in his work - captured using fast, unblended brushstrokes. A figure is just visible on the path at the centre of the piece, which many believe represents Renoir himself, immersed in the beauty of nature and embarking on the new artistic adventure of the Impressionists.

Baigneuse (1888), one of Renoir’s most significant nude studies, sold at Sotheby's New York in November 1997. This painting was created during a period when Renoir was increasingly focused on the female form as a classical subject, influenced by his studies of Renaissance masters during visits to Italy. The figure’s pose in Baigneuse (1888), for example, mimics traditional depictions of Venus. The piece brings together Renoir’s practised Impressionist techniques with a more Ingresque ideal, using smoother brushwork and more defined contours to give the body realistic form and substance. His nude paintings from the 1880s clearly display his developing interest in timeless, idealised beauty that is at once sensual and devoid of eroticism.

This charming portrait sold at Sotheby's London in May 1990, the same evening that Au Moulin De La Galette (1876) set Renoir’s record. The painting exemplifies Renoir's gift for capturing youthful innocence and spontaneity in his portraits of children and young women. At the time that Jeune Fille Au Chat (1876) was completed, Renoir was receiving increasing attention and patronage from wealthy collectors, particularly the Parisian bourgeoisie who enjoyed depictions of their sophisticated lifestyles. Recurring symbols, compositions, and colour palettes in Renoir’s work from this time were often chosen to please this clientele. The cat, for example, was a recurring symbol for sensuality or domesticity, while the red and green contrasting colour palette was admired by the likes of Manet. The work was featured in the Impressionist’s second exhibition, in April 1876, and, although their innovative painting techniques received mixed reviews, Renoir’s mastery of light and colour was highly praised.

La Promenade (1870) achieved this result at Sotheby's London in April 1989, when it sold out of the British Rail Pension Fund, setting what was a record for Renoir at the time. It is one of Renoir's earliest Impressionist masterpieces and the earliest auction sale on this list. The painting, like many of Renoir’s social scenes, is heavily saturated with the style of the time, from the fashionable dress of the figures to the popular leisure activities of the bourgeois before the upheaval of the Franco-Prussian War. Its sophisticated composition is typical of Renoir’s seemingly effortless ability to balance naturalistic observation with artistic innovation, layering highly socialised figures over a natural environment that appears to be free and overgrown. The painting's strong auction performance underscores collector interest in bright, colourful, dynamic works from the formative years of Impressionism.

This oil painting sold at Christie's London in February 2013, for nearly £2million over its high estimate. It depicts a young woman with a parasol set against a sunlit garden, showcasing Renoir’s skill at both female portraiture and outdoor settings. The goal of the Impressionists was to capture the essence of modern life - which is why Renoir’s most successful works from this period offer fleeting glimpses into social interactions, individuals taking time on their own, and the exact conditions of a moment in time. In L’Ombrelle (1878), for example, the shimmering effect created by the juxtaposition of lime green and lilac creates a distinct sense of temperature, time of day, and time of year. The unusual, almost spontaneous application of paint and the use of thick impasto also make this piece one of Renoir’s most experimental from the late 1870s, adding to the appeal for collectors.

La Liseuse (1877), which translates to “The Reader,” sold at Phillips, de Pury & Luxembourg in New York in May 2001. The painting is at once typical of Renoir’s style and unique. While it exemplifies Renoir's interest in depicting quiet moments of concentration, it is also rich in psychological depth, thanks to its much darker colour palette. The dark colours are, however, deceptive. Flecks of red, orange, blue, and pink help to give the shadows more depth and character to reflect the subject matter. The reading figure became a recurring motif in Impressionist painting, symbolising the expanding educational opportunities for women in late 19th century France.

The final instalment on this list also completes Renoir’s most successful year to date - another intimate interior scene, sold at Sotheby's New York in November 1990. It depicts a young woman drinking hot chocolate, which was a hugely popular breakfast drink among the bourgeois in 19th and early 20th century France, making this piece particularly relatable for Renoir’s target audience. Despite being an interior scene, Renoir set the dark, formal attire of his subject in stark contrast with the overtly colourful floral wallpaper and blooming vase of flowers behind her, to create a similar feel to that of his outdoor scenes. Over the course of around 50 years, Renoir painted multiple versions of his “Cup of Chocolate” concept, some as late as 1914. One work, titled Le Café (1877-78), was submitted to the Paris Salon to mark his return to the Salon after his work with the Impressionists and subsequent success.