Contemporary Day Auction
Live Auction: 15 May 2026 • 9:00 AM EDT • New York

Contemporary Day Auction 15 May 2026 • 9:00 AM EDT • New York

S otheby’s Contemporary Day Auction in New York this May at our new home in the Breuer Madison is honored to present an extraordinary selection of works by some of the most significant artistic voices of the last century spanning from Post-War, Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism and Contemporary Art. Highlights include exceptional works by Alexander Calder, Helen Frankenthaler, Andy Warhol, Alex Katz, Alma Thomas, Christopher Wool, Keith Haring and many others . The Contemporary Day Auction will feature exceptional examples from distinguished private and public collections including: Radiant Forms: Works from a Distinguished Private Collection, Works from the Collection of Jannine and Robert MacDonnell, Haring's House: Works from the Collection of Kermit Oswald, The Saul and Ellyn Dennison Collection, Property Sold to Benefit the Yale School of Art, and many more.

Browse All Lots


Sotheby’s is thrilled to present Roy Lichtenstein’s celebrated 1964 masterpiece, Girl in a Mirror - a vibrant, ravishing, and glamorous portrait that will headline the Contemporary Day Auction as its star lot and stand as the highest-valued piece ever offered in a Day Sale at Sotheby’s. A landmark moment that underscores the enduring power and allure of Pop Art. 

View 1 of Lot 325: Girl in Mirror
Roy Lichtenstein
Girl in Mirror
Estimate: 5,000,000 – 7,000,000 USD

Sale Highlights

Radiant Forms: Works from a Distinguished Private Collection

Sculptures

The Saul and Ellyn Dennison Collection

This May, Sotheby’s will present works from the collection of Saul and Ellyn Dennison - two deeply engaged collectors whose lives were shaped by a sustained commitment to artists and the evolving language of contemporary art. Bringing together paintings, works on paper, and conceptual objects acquired over several decades, the collection offers a vivid portrait of a couple who approached collecting as an ongoing dialogue: with artists, with institutions, and with the cultural questions of their time.
Saul and Ellyn cultivated close working relationships with some of the most influential dealers and institutions of the period, including Mary Boone, Andrea Rosen, Marianne Boesky, Barbara Gladstone, Donald Young, and Curt Marcus, as well as the Guggenheim and the New Museum. These relationships deepened their understanding of the artists shaping contemporary art in real time.

Post-War Abstraction, Pop and Figuration

Robert Mnuchin: Collector at Heart

Sothebys is honored to present works from Robert E. Mnuchin’s collection at auction. Assembled together with his wife Adriana across decades, the deeply personal collection is a true expression of the pair’s shared, fervent devotion to pursuing works they loved and wanted to live with, embodying Mnuchin’s collecting ethos that “the reason to buy art is because you love it, you love it, you love it”. Renowned across the art world for his discerning eye for the artists represented in his personal collection - including Franz Kline, Willem de Kooning, John Chamberlain and others - the superlative quality of the examples that Mnuchin chose for himself reflect this extreme level of connoisseurship. 

Haring's House: Works from the Collection of Kermit Oswald

Sotheby’s will unveil a trove of rare works by Keith Haring from the collection of his life-long best friend, Kermit Oswald. With many works unseen for decades. executed from 1977-1989 the collection span a large breadth of Haring’s practice and a range of media. Many of the works were given to Kermit from Keith and have remained in his private collection for nearly decades.

Contemporary Practice

View 1 of Lot 330: Various Cakes
Wayne Thiebaud
Various Cakes
Estimate: 2,200,000 – 2,800,000 USD
View 1 of Lot 202: Flowers [Six Works]
Andy Warhol
Flowers [Six Works]
Estimate: 1,200,000 – 1,800,000 USD

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