T his May, Sotheby’s Modern sales in New York will offer a landmark group of works from the esteemed collection of Rolf and Margit Weinberg. Defined by their distinguished connoisseurship, these visionary collectors assembled one of Europe’s most distinctive private collections over the past 50 years.

Spanning masterpieces of the late 19th century to pioneering examples of early abstraction and Expressionism, Modern Perspectives: The Collection of Rolf & Margit Weinberg includes important paintings by Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse, Edgar Degas, Wassily Kandinsky, Edvard Munch, László Moholy-Nagy, and Egon Schiele.

Rarely seen in public since the critically acclaimed exhibition, From El Greco to Mondrian toured major European museums between 1996–1997, these works will be exhibited in New York opening 2 May, before being offered later in the month during Sotheby’s Modern Evening Sale.

At the heart of the collection is Cézanne’s psychologically charged Portrait de Madame Cézanne (c. 1877) – a rare and revelatory depiction of the artist’s lover and later wife, Hortense Fiquet. Cézanne’s enigmatic portraits of his wife – 29 in total, most held in major museum collections – are considered among the most important, yet misunderstood paintings of his oeuvre. Further highlights include Henri Matisse’s jewel-like Le Bras (1938) and László Moholy-Nagy’s Constructivist masterpiece Am 3 (1923), which carries the highest estimate for any work ever offered by the artist.

The collection stands as a testament not only to the Weinbergs’ discerning eye for exceptional works of art, but also to their shared legacy as champions of scholarship, innovation, and cultural stewardship in Zurich and beyond.

By Dieter Schwarz

An Introduction: Rolf & Margit Weinberg