How Much Is Jeanne (Spring) Worth?

Fair-market value (FMV): $90–120 million. This estimate is derived via comparable analysis anchored to the painting’s last public sale at Christie’s New York on November 5, 2014, where it realized $65,125,000 including premium and set Manet’s standing auction record [1]. Immediately acquired by the J. Paul Getty Museum, Jeanne (Spring) has since been positioned as a late-career masterpiece and emblematic portrait within the artist’s oeuvre [2]. The step-up from the 2014 result reflects a decade of trophy-market appreciation, the work’s canonical status, and the acute scarcity of equivalent Manet paintings.

Comparable benchmarks and positioning. On the artist level, Jeanne remains the apex result and the most market-desirable Manet likely to trade in our time. Recent Manet activity underscores the steep quality gradient: a strong late still life brought $10.1 million in 2024, far below the tier at which celebrated portraits transact, reinforcing Jeanne’s singularity [3]. On the category level, blue-chip Impressionist/Post‑Impressionist masterpieces continue to command nine-figure pricing—evidenced by Monet’s Haystacks at $110.7 million (2019) and the Paul G. Allen collection’s Cézanne and Seurat at $137.8 million and $149.2 million, respectively—bracketing the upper end for 19th‑century icons [4][5].

Rarity and substitutability. Manet’s masterpiece-level supply is largely sequestered in museums; few late, signature portraits with comparable art-historical weight remain in private hands. Jeanne (Spring) itself is museum-held, which not only removes the best example from potential circulation but also makes true replacement effectively impossible. In a hypothetical sale, this scarcity and institutional endorsement would concentrate demand from global, top-tier collectors seeking a definitive Manet, supporting an FMV comfortably above the 2014 record result.

Insurance/replacement value: $135 million. Replacement cost for an object of this stature typically exceeds auction-indexed FMV, given the need to compete for an equally significant substitute (if one can be found). Recent marquee outcomes for category-defining works demonstrate buyers’ willingness to pay substantial premiums for museum-caliber masterpieces, justifying a replacement value well above the 2014 purchase and above FMV today [4][5]. The $135 million indication sits within a plausible $110–150 million bracket given current trophy dynamics.

Market context and timing. While aggregate Impressionist/Post‑Impressionist auction values declined in 2023–2024, reporting attributes this primarily to thinner supply of top lots rather than diminished demand. When true trophies surface, competition remains deep and global, a pattern consistent with Jeanne’s likely reception were it ever to re-enter the market [6]. Taken together—record-setting provenance, canonical importance, extreme scarcity, and supportive cross-artist benchmarks—the synthesized valuation of $90–120 million FMV and ~$135 million replacement is well supported.