One of Claude Monet's iconic paintings of haystacks has fetched a record $110.7 million US at an auction in New York.

Monet's Meules sold at Sotheby's sale of Impressionist and Modern Art on Tuesday night. The auction house says it's a world auction record for the artist.

The 1890 painting is one of only four works from Monet's acclaimed Haystacks series to come to auction this century, and one of only eight examples remaining in private hands. The 17 others reside at museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Art Institute of Chicago.

The previous owners had purchased the painting in 1986 for $2.53 million US. Sotheby's did not provide any details on the new buyer, but did tweet that there was a bit of a bidding war before the final price was achieved.