Christie's, who were the auctioneers, said the buyer of the painting by Monet wanted to remain anonymous.
The highest amount a Monet painting had reached before was $36.5m (£18.6m) for his 1904 Nympheas, which was bought in 2007.
Christopher Burge, the Christie’s auctioneer for the sale, explained: "It's very rare to get an 1870s Monet of this quality on the market and the result proved that tonight."
Nevertheless two other works by Monet as well as art by Picasso, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Renoir and Matisse didn’t sell at the same auction.
