Claude Monet's Les Peupliers a Giverny is among the highlights of Sotheby's impressionist and modern art evening sale in London on February 3.

The lot, valued at £9m-12m ($13.8m-18.4m), is one of five works by Monet to star in the auction.

Claude Monet's Les Peupliers a Giverny is being consigned by New York's MOMA

Sotheby's comments: "The painting marks a highpoint in Monet's mastery of the evanescent impressions of light and colour that had been his preoccupation over the previous two decades.

"It represents a pivotal moment in the artist's career, because Les Peupliers à Giverny also looks forward to his great series paintings of the 1890s, one of the most important of which featured these same poplar trees."

New York's Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) is behind the consignment, with the painting being sold to fund further acquisitions.

The auction will also include Le Grand Canal, valued at £20m-30m ($30.6m-45.9m), which Monet painted on his only trip to Venice, in 1908.

Helena Newman, Sotheby's co-head of impressionist & modern art worldwide, commented: "In 2014 we saw growth of more than 20 per cent in sales of Impressionist & Modern Art at Sotheby's, marking our fourth consecutive year as global leader in this field.

"This reflects the strength of the market and the wealth of extraordinary Impressionist & Modern works that we have sourced."

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