How Much Is Still Life with Flowers Worth?

Painted in 1885, this still life sits in a transitional decade for Renoir when he rebalanced composition and color after his most luminous Impressionist years. Floral still lifes from the mid‑1880s are coveted for their rich palette and confident handling, and The Metropolitan Museum notes its ca. 1885 Still Life with Flowers and Prickly Pears is closely related to the Guggenheim Still Life: Flowers, reinforcing date, style, and scholarly linkage. While still lifes rank below Renoir’s multi‑figure icons, prime‑period bouquets with strong color and painterly quality form a recognized, liquid sub‑market. This historical positioning places the work near the top of the still‑life category, boosting value relative to later, smaller, or more decorative examples.

The painting’s Thannhauser provenance and long-term placement in the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum materially enhance confidence, desirability, and value. Thannhauser was among the most respected dealers/collectors of Modern art, and works from his collection are widely perceived as rigorously vetted, well documented, and frequently exhibited. Museum-held provenance signals quality and clean title, and such works often carry a premium if a comparable example enters the market. Even though this canvas is not for sale, the pedigree functions as a strong quality proxy in a hypothetical setting, de-risking authenticity and literature concerns and amplifying buyer competition in a fair‑market auction scenario.

At approximately 81.9 × 65.8 cm, the canvas is materially larger than many Renoir bouquets that circulate at auction. Scale is a tangible price driver when coupled with appealing color, compositional fullness, and painterly freshness. In 2024, a smaller yet strong bouquet (65.4 × 53.8 cm) achieved £6.9m/$8.7m with fees in London, illustrating buyer willingness to pay up for compelling mid‑size florals. The Guggenheim painting’s format allows for bolder chromatic orchestration and presence on the wall, qualities that typically move still lifes from the mid single‑digits into the upper single‑digit/low eight‑figure band when condition and surface quality are strong.

Recent sales create a tight frame for pricing. A 1878 bouquet made £6.9m (≈ $8.7m) with premium at Sotheby’s London (June 2024), acting as the high anchor for mid‑size, high‑quality Renoir florals. A different 1870s bouquet realized about $3.2m with fees in New York (May 2024), while a narrower‑format 1872 still life brought £720k with fees on the same 2024 London evening. Together, these outcomes map the category’s dispersion by date, size, and quality. Given the Guggenheim canvas’s larger scale and prime 1885 date, an $8–12m range is appropriately calibrated to the upper end of the still‑life spectrum, below Renoir’s iconic multi‑figure masterpieces but well above later or smaller florals.

Condition can move Renoir still‑life prices by millions. Lining, overcleaning, discolored varnish, or extensive retouch can compress bidding, while a well‑preserved, lively surface invites competition. As a museum-held picture, a baseline standard of care is expected, and the work has an exhibition history that suggests stable condition; the estimate assumes typical museum‑grade stability, original dimensions, and no unresolved title or restitution risk. A fresh, favorable condition report and high-resolution imaging could push results to the top of the range; conversely, significant conservation issues would warrant a downward adjustment. The $8–12m band reflects these practical, market-tested sensitivities.