LONDON A mystery bidder paid 10.12 million pounds (16.19 million euros, 14.33 million dollars) for a Claude Monet masterpiece at a sale in London, auction house Sotheby's said.

"Meules, Derniers Rayons de Soleil" (haystacks, last rays of the sun) had been expected to fetch up to seven million pounds at the sale of works by impressionist artists.

But it was short of the record 19.8 million pounds paid for a Monet painting, "Waterlily Pond and Path by Water", which went under the hammer at Sotheby's in 1998.

Monet worked on his iconic haystacks series between 1890-91 and it marked a radical departure from his earlier impressionist work.

The series of 23 canvasses are recognized by art historians and critics as an important landmark in the development of modern art.