A Tale of Two Cities: Etihad Joins Sotheby's for Our Landmark Icons Exhibition

E arlier this month Sotheby’s opened the doors to its stunning new global headquarters in Marcel Breuer’s iconic Brutalist building on Madison Avenue. First opened in the late 1960s, the angular midcentury masterpiece stood out in a city known for its daring architecture. The institution variously served as the home of The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Frick Collection before being acquired by Sotheby’s, who enlisted the Swiss architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron to give the space a facelift. The newly opened building has been receiving raves for its “thoughtful and deeply respectful” renovation, as The New York Times praised in a recent review of the revamped historic building.

Now, Sotheby’s is partnering with Etihad Airways to celebrate this historic feat. On view December 13-21, Icons brings together a once-in-a-lifetime collection of 27 veritable masterpieces sold by Sotheby’s in decades past – for a combined value over $2 billion. Temporarily on loan from private collections and public institutions, the works of art will be exhibited alongside one another for the first time for all to see.

Before arriving in New York, a selection of 11 objects were exhibited in Abu Dhabi during the highly anticipated Collectors’ Week, held at the spectacular St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort December 2-6. This pairing of locations reflects an increasingly global art market, with Sotheby’s both maintaining an active presence in longtime artistic epicenters like New York City while catalyzing a rapidly expanding dialogue with emerging powerhouses, such as the United Arab Emirates. By deepening its reach in both New York City and Abu Dhabi, Sotheby’s is also ensuring that generations of collectors, artists, and institutions can move fluidly throughout these exciting locales in the future — and Etihad Airways, as a leading global airline, traces the precise routes where these ideas are currently being exchanged. Renowned for its expertise in handling high-value and precious goods, Etihad’s logistics arm, Etihad Cargo, ensures that all artwork is safely transferred between the two exhibitions with its Etihad FlyCulture service.

Known for its dynamic international routes and bespoke in-flight service, Etihad Airways is a natural partner for the jet-setting global art market. In the spirit of this world-spanning and glamorous artistic partnership arriving to the two global cities this December, Etihad celebrates the strength of its direct route from Abu Dhabi to New York City. With Etihad’s signature hospitality and inflight experience, guests in premium cabins are indulged with lie-flat seats, privacy, cozy sleepwear, luxury amenities and a selection of delicious meals so that travelers can unwind and wake up refreshed once they reach their destination. 

The works on view have each changed the course of collecting and art history in remarkable ways. The exhibition notably includes Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Untitled, a 1982 artwork by the late iconoclast painter and leading force of downtown New York’s exciting art scene at the time. Upon its sale in 2017, Basquiat’s vivid skull painting drew in an astonishing $110.5 million, making it the highest-selling work ever created by an American artist. Francis Bacon’s Three Studies for Portrait of Lucian Freud beautifully immortalizes a turning point in history, with two great friends and rivals at its center. The inclusion of Andy Warhol’s iconic Orange Shot Marilyn, one of the Pop artist’s most instantly recognizable depictions of Marilyn Monroe, featuring a tiny bullet hole from one of Warhol’s experimentations in performance art, captures an important moment in avant-garde art history.

The exhibition spans more contemporary works, including Banksy’s “Girl without Balloon,” the self-disappearing stunner from the trickster artist which, to date, remains the only artwork ever created in an auction room. Ancient pieces are also represented with the inclusion of an extraordinary, and extraordinarily rare, Mesopotamian sculpture. Estimated to be roughly 5,000 years old, the sculpted work still holds the distinction of being the most valuable antiquity in the world ever sold at auction. Important cultural objects such as Jane Birkin’s original Hermès Birkin prototype bag, which sold this year for a record-shattering $10 million, also hold a special place in the exhibition.

These singular artworks on view at Sotheby’s involve intersecting histories, eras, and oceans. In this collaborative venture, Sotheby’s and Etihad encapsulate the breadth of this expansive global network — from Abu Dhabi to New York and beyond — that makes such a unique union possible. This collaboration reflects a shared commitment to a border-spanning cultural future, one where the world’s most significant works can be seen, studied, and celebrated across cultures.

“As Presenting Partner, we’re proud to bring this extraordinary collection of masterpieces together for the world to enjoy in both our home, Abu Dhabi, as well as in New York,” commented Arik De, Chief Revenue and Commercial Officer, Etihad Airways. “Our collaboration with Sotheby’s reflects our shared commitment to delivering remarkable experiences that connect cultures and inspire discovery, while elevating Abu Dhabi’s position as global cultural destination. As a luxury airline committed to impeccable service and comfort, it is our privilege to carry both the collection and the people who bring it to life.”