Sotheby’s Modern Day Auction will focus on works that capture the spirit of the various ways in which artists of the late 19th century and first half of the 20th century dared to challenge established norms of artistic practice to create a new and wholly modern vision of art. Ranging from Impressionism and Cubism to Abstract-Expressionism and the School of Paris, the Modern Day Auction spotlights these critical developments through the mid-20th century and will incorporate works by post-war artists to trace the origins and fulfillment of total abstraction. The first session of the sale unites these critical artistic movements and will be led by an exceptional collection of sculptures and jewelry by Alexander Calder from the Estate of Katherine Stillman, and the session also features work by artists such as Sam Francis, Willem de Kooning, Grace Hartigan, Wassily Kandinsky, Pablo Picasso, and Marc Chagall. Also in this session, we are proud to be offering Legendary Masters: A Series of Modern Masterworks by Wifredo Lam, Fernando Botero, Rufino Tamayo, Matta, Joaquín Torres-García and more from the storied collection of Tanya Brillembourg-Capriles. In the second session, the revolutionary spirit of the 1880s and early 1900s in France is represented by exceptional paintings by the Pointillist Charles Angrand and the Symbolist Henri Le Sidaner. Other Impressionist highlights include a vibrant Renoir still life and Monet’s Anémones from the famous series of doors he painted for the dealer Durand-Ruel.
