Modern Day Auction
Live Auction: 18 May 2022 • 10:00 AM EDT • New York

Modern Day Auction 18 May 2022 • 10:00 AM EDT • New York

T his May, Sotheby’s is pleased to present the Modern Day Auction, which will include a variety of works by artists ranging from the birth of Impressionism in France to Surrealism in Mexico to the dawn of Abstract Expressionism in New York. This sale will illustrate the critical developments of the late 19th and early 20th century through the new dialogue of the Modern Auction context. The evolution of art in the modern era was shaped by movements, counter-movements and cross-currents that defy narrow categorizations by continent or medium. Sotheby’s team of Fine Arts specialists look forward to opening up new avenues for collectors by presenting major works by O’Keeffe, Guston, Motherwell, de Kooning, Davis, Botero, Matta and Tamayo alongside highlights by Chagall, Miro, Picasso and forerunners of the modern movement, Rodin, Degas, Renoir and Morisot. This sale will feature works from The Collection of Marcia and Stanley Gumberg, featuring Modern Masterworks on Paper, alongside property from The Collection of Paul Yeou Chichong and Property Sold to Benefit the O'Donnell Foundation, amongst other established collections. This sale strives to be provocative, daring and revolutionary: it is this persistent urge of successive generations of artists across the world to challenge established norms and preconceptions, and to reimagine what art might achieve, that has paved the way to the contemporary era.

Highlights of the Modern Day Auction

In a New Light: Impressionism

Drawn Together: The Collection of Marcia and Stanley Gumberg, featuring Modern Masterworks on Paper

This May, Sotheby’s is proud to present Drawn Together: The Collection of Marcia and Stanley Gumberg, featuring Modern Masterworks on Paper, a stunning group of Modernist and Contemporary paintings, drawings and sculptures. Assembled by Marcia and Stanley Gumberg with the utmost connoisseurship and exquisitely displayed in their Pittsburgh home, the seminal works in the Collection represent a visionary summary of both American Abstract Expressionism and European Modernism, the two defining pillars of 20th-century art. Notably, the Collection showcases an extraordinary grouping of 20th-century masterworks on paper at their most striking; from the vigorous lines of Arshile Gorky to the sweeping strokes of Willem de Kooning, the emphatic forms of Robert Motherwell to the lush surfaces of Philip Guston, these works on paper are revelatory of each artist’s true genius and skill. Beyond the caliber of the works on paper, the Gumbergs' unparalleled skill in integrating exceptional works across media creates thrilling dialogues within their Collection, juxtaposing such artists as Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Barnett Newman, Georg Baselitz, Richard Prince and more in a manner both engaging and immersive.

To be offered in Sotheby’s sales across Modern and Contemporary art this spring and summer, the Gumberg Collection includes several works to be offered in our May 2022 Modern Day Auction in New York. This curated grouping will feature Philip Guston’s Grove II from 1959 and Picasso’s vibrant gouache Guitare et partition sur guéridon.

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The Figure in the 20th Century

Property from a Distinguished Boston Collection
The Vanguard Spirit: Modern and Surrealist Masterworks from an Important Estate

This collection encompasses one of the most impressive assemblages of Latin American art in private hands ever offered at auction. Spanning over forty years of enlightened acquisitions, this encyclopedic and intensely personal collection reveals the prescience of a gifted and inquisitive eye—one capable of discerning museum-quality artworks before they were coveted by the collecting world at large.

Modern Works on Paper

Legendary Masters: The Brillembourg Capriles Collection
Property from the Collection of Seymour Stein

Seymour Stein is the cofounder of Sire Records, one of the most influential record labels in the music industry, established in 1966 with Richard Gottehrer. Stein is credited for discovering pop icon, Madonna, and signing her to his label in 1982. He has worked with countless other legendary musicians including the Talking Heads, the Ramones, the Pretenders, Brian Wilson and Ice-T. Stein's prolific career and contributions to the music industry were recognized in 2005 when he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Stein is an avid collector of Art Deco furniture, ceramics and glass, as well as 19th and 20th century fine art. Sotheby's is honored to present some of the exceptional Modern paintings from his collection including important works by Paul Cadmus and Jared French.

Eternal Style: A Private American Collection

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