The following selection from The Museum of Modern Art’s holdings reflects the daring and diverse approaches to abstraction that painters from Europe and the Americas developed in the postwar period. For example, Untitled (1966) by Norman Bluhm, a second-generation Abstract Expressionist, combines gestural brushwork and energetic paint splatters. Tridim W, Gestalt (1969) by Victor Vasarely, a leader of the 1960s Op Art movement, consists of geometric forms that create illusions of movement and spatial depth. Many of the abstract paintings in this auction were gifted by important benefactors such as Larry Aldrich, The Riklis Collection of McCrory Corporation, and Mary Sisler who also donated what are today landmark works in MoMA’s collection.

Bold Experiments in Abstraction

The photographs included in this auction are by celebrated practitioners such as Helen Levitt, Homer Page, Robert Frank, and Harry Callahan, among others. Many of the works on offer were featured in exhibitions at The Museum of Modern Art that proved influential to the trajectory of the medium. The material history of these photographs is revealed by the labels, stamps, handwritten annotations, and installation-related remnants found on the backs of these prints.

A Peek Behind the Print

In Focus: Henry Moore

This group of works from The Museum of Modern Art’s holdings demonstrates how artists across the 20th century challenged the conventional materials and modes of painting and sculpture. For example, Roberto Crippa’s Composition (1959)—gifted to MoMA by legendary gallerist Alexander Iolas—employs wide, flat pieces of tree bark in horizontal planes across the plywood support, emulating broad painted brushstrokes. Donated by Nelson A. Rockefeller, an early president of the Museum, My First House (1963) showcases Marcos Grigorian’s characteristic use of natural media. My First House is an example from Grigorian’s Earthworks series that employs mud, sand, straw, and other building materials for adobe-like dwellings, evoking life in Iranian villages.

Materials of Modernism

New York

Sotheby’s is delighted to present Selections from The Museum of Modern Art: c. 1900–1990, an online auction offering approximately 100 works from MoMA’s holdings that are being sold to benefit new acquisitions. This eclectic group of paintings, sculptures, photographs, drawings, and prints spans 20th-century art from Europe and the Americas, featuring evocative depictions of the modern city alongside bold experiments in abstraction. The auction showcases works by significant artists such as Walker Evans, Robert Frank, Henry Moore, and Victor Vasarely as well as those by lesser-known practitioners who were popular during their eras. Many of these objects were donated to MoMA by legendary patrons and cultural figures, including benefactors Lillie P. Bliss and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller; gallerist Alexander Iolas; and celebrated figures of stage and screen Eli Wallach and Richard Rodgers. Their gifts demonstrate the breadth of taste and the spirit of philanthropy that helped shape the Museum’s collection and mission. Extending the impact of those generous donors, the proceeds from this sale will continue to benefit the development of MoMA’s holdings. Sale Number: N12005

Additional works from the collection will be offered by STAIR Galleries on 19 November.

Specialist, Head of Contemporary Discoveries

Keith Lebel

Cataloguer, Contemporary Art

Caroline Yarbrough

Associate Specialist

Katie Maher

AVP, Specialist, Impressionist & Modern Art, Deputy Head of Modern Day Auctions

Zoë Zaneteas

Photographs

Aimee Pflieger

Cataloguer, Photographs

Matt Parciak

Pre-Sale Coordinator, Contemporary Discoveries

Juliette Saylor

Meet our Specialists

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Sotheby’s is delighted to present Selections from The Museum of Modern Art: c. 1900–1990, an online auction offering approximately 100 works from MoMA’s holdings that are being sold to benefit new acquisitions. Spanning 20th-century art from Europe and the Americas, the sale features works by artists including Walker Evans, Robert Frank, Henry Moore, and Victor Vasarely. Many were donated by visionary patrons such as Lillie P. Bliss, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, and Larry Aldrich whose generosity helped shape the Museum’s collection.