Auction of Donated Monet Yields Nothing for Corcoran Gallery

A rarely seen Claude Monet painting bequeathed by the reclusive copper heiress Huguette Clark to the Corcoran Gallery of Art sold at auction Tuesday for $24-million, but the financially strapped Washington, D.C., museum will see none of the money, writes The Washington Post.

Under the complex terms of Ms. Clark’s estate—which was settled in 2013, two years after her death at age 104—the Corcoran was to receive half the proceeds from the Christie’s auction of the work, but only if the purchase price topped $25-million. The 1907 painting of water lilies, last exhibited in 1926, had been valued at $25-million to $35-million.

The Corcoran, which has long struggled with deficits, received a separate $11.25-million from the estate of Ms. Clark, a longtime benefactor. The 145-year-old museum announced plans in February for a dramatic reorganization that would see its collection turned over the National Gallery of Art and its building and art and design school operated by George Washington University. How the Corcoran will use the Clark bequest will not be specified until further into the transition, a gallery spokeswoman said.