Tour the Galleries of Masters Week

M asters Week is here, and Sotheby’s specialists are eager to be your tour guides throughout the week’s impressive lineup of sales. Masters Week features an array of paintings, drawings and sculptures from artists spanning through the centuries, and hail from regions across Europe – highlights include a remarkable Sandro Botticelli masterpiece and an exceptional sculpture by Baroque geniuses Pietro and Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Here, we take a closer look at the Master Paintings & Sculpture Part I and the Fearless: The Collection of Hester Diamond Part I auctions in Sotheby’s galleries, which are on view by appointment only through 27 January and 28 January, respectively.

A Private Tour of the Hester Diamond Collection Exhibition

George Wachter and Hester Diamond's eldest son, David Diamond, delve into the collection, which boldly juxtaposes artworks by titans like Bernini and Dosso Dossi with amazing natural minerals and contemporary artworks. Wachter pays homage to Berninis’ Autumn, which he “consider[s] to be the star of the collection… Gian Lorenzo Bernini is as rare a sculptor as you can find. In my years at Sotheby’s, there was one that was sold that is now at the Kimbell Art Museum, but apart from that I cannot think of another.”

A Private Tour of the Master Paintings & Sculpture Exhibition

Specialists Christopher Apostle and Calvine Harvey walk us through the Master Paintings & Sculpture auction, stopping along the way to share interesting stories and anecdotes. Apostle begins with Botticelli’s Portrait of a Young Man Holding a Roundel, which he describes as “the greatest masterpiece that we’ve ever had during my over thirty years at Sotheby’s.” The auction additionally features an incredibly rare canvas of the Descent from the Cross by Hugo van der Goes and an expertly painted Ecce Homo by Guido Reni. Harvey joins the tour to discuss another magnificent work, an intimate biblical scene by Rembrandt, entitled Abraham and the Angels.