Bill Koch to Sell $40 Million in Art at Christie's, Led by Monet

Billionaire collector William "Bill" Koch will sell more than $40 million of art at Christie's in New York this November, with works by Claude Monet and Paul Cézanne estimated to fetch as much as $18 million apiece.

Christie's said the collection also includes paintings by Edgar Degas, Henri Matisse, Joan Miró and Diego Rivera. The works will appear across the house's marquee sales in New York next month.

What has Koch already sold?

The November sale extends a lucrative relationship between Koch and the auction house. In June 2025, Christie's sold $28.8 million of wine from Koch's cellar. Seven months later, his Western American art auction brought $84 million in January. Christie's said both sales exceeded expectations.

Koch has also been shedding real estate. His 52-acre Aspen estate, Elk Mountain Lodge, went on the market in January 2025 for $125 million. After failing to attract a buyer, Koch cut the price to $99 million and sent it to auction in July. He bought the property in 2007 for $26.5 million. The estate includes a 16,631-square-foot main house and seven guest cabins.

In under two years, the 85-year-old has parted with more than $112 million in art and wine, with another $40 million or more potentially arriving next month. Neither Christie's nor Koch has publicly connected the sales to any broader plan.

What leads the November sale?

Koch is turning to European and Latin American art. The top lot is Monet's Champ d'avoine et coquelicots (1890), a landscape of oats and poppies near the artist's home in Giverny, France. Koch bought the painting in 1985. It carries an estimate of $12 million to $18 million.

Sharing top billing is Cézanne's Tasse, verre et fruits (ca. 1877), a still life of apples, a cup and a glass on a tabletop. Koch acquired it in 1986. Christie's has given it the same $12 million to $18 million estimate. Both paintings appear in the 20th Century Evening Sale.

Other highlights include:

• Matisse, Jeune femme fardée à l'orientale (La bayadère) (1929) — $5 million to $7 million
• Degas, Scène de ballet, pastel over monotype — $3 million to $5 million
• Rivera, Vendedora de flores en Xochimilco (1929) — $2.5 million to $3.5 million
• Miró, Peinture (1950) — $2.5 million to $3.5 million
• Chagall, Danseuse à la robe fleurie (1971) — $1.2 million to $1.8 million
• Gabriele Münter, Kind mit Puppe (1909) — $900,000 to $1.2 million

The Degas has a notable provenance. Philadelphia collector Annie Riddle Scott bought it directly from the artist on the advice of painter Mary Cassatt. Another impression of the underlying monotype belongs to the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts.

Why is Koch selling?

Koch, an industrialist and America's Cup winner, has spent decades assembling collections ranging from fine art to rare wines. In a statement, he framed the sale as a passing of pleasure: he hopes "art lovers around the world can take the same enjoyment as I have, in collecting these works my hope is that collectors will find something that speaks to their passion and that they are able to share it with their friends and loved ones."

"I feel very fortunate that with hard work, business success, and a great deal of luck, I have been able to collect things that resonate with me," Koch said. "The masterpieces in this sale are among my favorites."

The works will be spread across Christie's 20th Century Evening Sale, Impressionist and Modern Art Day Sale and Works on Paper Sale during the November marquee week in New York. How the Monet and Cézanne perform against their $18 million ceilings will signal whether the market still rewards trophy Impressionist works at the top end.