Visitors flock to see Monet's Waterlilies

"The chance to see this work for the first time is extremely exciting for collectors and scholars interested in Monet's work," said Melanie Clore, European head of Sotheby's impressionist and modern art department.

Sotheby's are selling the painting on behalf of the Consignor family.

Claude Oscar Monet was a painter who intently studied the fleeting effects of light on the natural world.

Landmark

He was born in Paris on 14 November 1840, but spent most of his childhood in Le Havre, Northern France.

It was a feature of his work that he would paint a particular subject in a variety of weather conditions or times of day or year.

He famously did this with the waterlilies in his garden at Giverny, France, the Haystacks, Rouen cathedral and even the Houses of Parliament in London.

Monet's Nympheas fetched $22.5m (�15.6m) in 1999

His Haystacks were painted between 1890-1891 and the series of 23 canvases are now recognised as one of the most important landmarks in modern art.

Monet's painting Impression, Sunrise also gave the Impressionists their name and earned Monet his "father of the impressionists" title.

Haystacks, Last Rays of the Sun was originally bought directly from Monet by his friend Paul Gallimard in 1891.

It was last seen in public in 1895 when it was exhibited in Paris at the Galerie Durand-Ruel.