What a difference four years makes in the art world.

In 2010, Christie's offered up Claude Monet's 1906 "Water Lilies" for at least £30 million ($51 million at current exchange rates) and no one nibbled. On Monday, Sotheby's London brought the same painting up for sale and at least three bidders dueled for it. An American telephone bidder ultimately won it for £31.7 million, or $54 million.

That price amounts to the second-highest ever paid at auction for a Monet.