Sotheby’s will bring together a cross-section of modern, post-war and contemporary art this May in New York, offering collectors a closer look at pivotal works and new directions. The auctions will offer an exceptional selection of museum-quality works that trace the evolution of art from the early 20th century to today, spanning American pop legends like Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Robert Rauschenberg, to postwar European visionaries, and extending to dynamic contemporary artists including Michael Armitage and Danielle Mckinney.
An extraordinary sculpture by Alberto Giacometti, estimated at over $70 million, will headline Sotheby’s Modern Evening Auction on May 13 in New York. Grande tête mince (1955), a one-of-a-kind hand-painted bronze cast, stands among the most important sculptures by Mr. Giacometti to appear at auction in the past decade.
Other highlights of the Modern auction include Pablo Picasso’s Homme assis (1969), one of the most abstract and monumental works from the artist’s musketeer series (est. $12-18 million). Towering over 50 inches in height, Picasso’s demanding depiction of a seated musketeer recognizes the importance of his last years as a defining period of his entire career. Paul Signac’s radiant Saint-Georges. Couchant (Venise) (1905) is appearing at auction for the first time in over 70 years (est. $7-10 million).
The Modern auctions also includes paintings from the rarely seen collection of Rolf and Margit Weinberg, featuring Paul Cézanne’s psychologically charged Portrait de Madame Cézanne (c. 1877) (est. $5-7 million), a rare and revelatory depiction of the artist’s wife; Henri Matisse’s jewel-like Le Bras (1938) (est. $4-6 million), and László Moholy-Nagy’s Constructivist masterpiece Am 3 (1923) (es.t $3-5 million).
There is an extraordinary group of works from the collection of renowned Hollywood film producer Joseph H. Hazen, highlighted by Fernand Léger’s La Jeune fille au bouquet (est. $5-7 million) – a tender 1921 work with an extraordinary history, including its confiscation by the Nazis and heroic recovery by French Resistance heroine Rose Valland. The Modern Day auction will be held on May 14, 2025.
The Modern auctions see many gems from Claue Monet, Rene Magritte, Georgia O’Keefe, Joan Miro, Vincent Van Gogh, Marc Chagall and Edvard Munch as well.
A major highlight of The Now and Contemporary Evening Auction (to be held on May 15) is a rediscovered early work by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled (1981), estimated at $10–15 million. The landmark piece has remained in a private collection since 1989 and has been virtually unseen by the public for more than three decades. Created when Basquiat was just 20 years old, the vibrant work, spanning over five feet in width, captures the pivotal moment of his rise from street provocateur to mainstream sensation.
This season’s offerings also reflect the transformative spirit of the 1960s, a pivotal decade in postwar art. In the U.S., artists moved beyond Abstract Expressionism, giving way to Pop Art with the works of Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol, and Claes Oldenburg. Meanwhile, in Europe, the lingering scars of World War II shaped the work of artists like Sigmar Polke, who, in Alpenvelchen, examined the role of images as tools of propaganda. Lucio Fontana and the Arte Povera group sought to create art that was raw, unfiltered, and often torn apart at its core.
Over 40 works from the collection of Dorothy and Roy Lichtenstein, with a combined estimate exceeding $35 million, will also feature prominently. This group charts four decades of Lichtenstein’s artistic practice across painting, sculpture, drawing, prints, and collage. Another notable inclusion is Im Spazio, a curated selection of 15 exceptional works from the collection of Daniella Luxembourg, capturing the radical achievements of postwar Italian and American artists. To be auctioned on May 15, central to this group is Lucio Fontana’s glittering Concetto spaziale, La Fine di Dio (1963), estimated at $12–18 million.
A selection of 12 works from the personal collection of legendary gallerist Barbara Gladstone will offer a rare glimpse into the works she chose to live with. Being auctioned on May 15, the centerpiece of this group is Richard Prince’s Man Crazy Nurse, a defining piece from the artist’s celebrated Nurse series.
Frank Stella’s Adelante (1964), estimated at $10–15 million, will also be offered. This bold work, part of Stella’s famed Running V Paintings, comes from the distinguished collection of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). Two additional works deaccessioned from SFMOMA—a painting by Henri Matisse and a mobile by Alexander Calder—will be offered during the Modern Evening Auction on May 13. All three works are sold to benefit the museum’s acquisitions fund.
Georg Baselitz’s radical self-portrait Fingermalerei – Akt (Finger Painting – Nude) from 1972, painted entirely with the artist’s fingertips and estimated at $2–3 million, will be among five works offered from The Phillips Collection. Proceeds from these sales, together estimated at $4.6–6.7 million, will support future acquisitions for the museum, continuing the legacy of Duncan Phillips, an early advocate for modern art in America.
Ed Ruscha’s That Was Then This Is Now, an acrylic on canvas estimated at $7–10 million, represents a key work from his sfumato sky paintings of 1988–90. The phrase resonates with a timeless relevance, whether read as nostalgic or hopeful. Drawing inspiration from the advertisement industry and Hollywood culture of mid-century America, Ruscha’s cloudy backdrops evoke a sense of ambiguous transformation, mirroring the tension between history and destiny.
Robert Rauschenberg’s Rigger (1961), estimated at $8–12 million, is a bold example from his final series of Combines, where he demolished the boundaries between painting and sculpture. Incorporating materials such as metal, rope, wood, fabric, plastic buttons, paper, graphite, and sand, Rigger reflects both humanity’s industrial evolution and the deeply personal narrative of Rauschenberg’s own life. Monumental in scale, the work stands as one of the largest from his late Combines series, alongside major institutional holdings like those at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The full breadth of the Modern Art Evening Auction, the Modern Art Day Auction, and the Contemporary Art Evening and Day (May 16) Auctions will go on view at Sotheby’s New York galleries from May 2 – 13, ahead of the sales that will take place the week of May 12. These Sotheby’s May marquee sale series is presented in partnership with French couture house CELINE.
