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Masters Week 2024 New York Jan

Behind the Scenes: Installing Masters Week

Launch Slideshow

This year’s Masters Week auctions in New York are now on display and open to the public through 1 February, with sales running through 3 February. In the photos above, take a unique behind-the-scenes look as the galleries come to life. View exceptional works - presented in partnership with Qatar Executive - from female artists like Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, renowned portraitists including Sir Peter Paul Rubens and more.

Text by Mollie Fox. Photographs by Matthew Borowick for Sotheby’s.

Sotheby’s New York
Now on View: Masters Week
26 January–3 February 2024

Masters Week is presented in partnership with Qatar Executive

Behind the Scenes: Installing Masters Week

  • Photos by Matthew Borowick
    Sir Peter Paul Rubens
    The self-portrait of Sir Peter Paul Rubens sits above a specialist inspecting another piece in the Sotheby’s gallery. Rubens depicts himself in his early 30s – at the beginning of his career, yet already in a style of portraiture that he would become known for. This work was kept by the Rubens family for about 250 years.
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  • Masterworks from Italy and the Netherlands
    Titian’s Portrait of the Artist (far left), Penitent Magdalene by the Neapolitan School (center left), Portrait of a Man with a White Beard painted by a member of the Circle of Rembrandt van Rijn (center right) and After Sir Anthony van Dyck’s Portrait of a Woman (far right) patiently await installation. They will be on display 26–31 January, offered in the Master Paintings Part II auction.
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  • Installation
    Art handlers prepare a large painting to be displayed in a gallery. Hundreds of extraordinary pieces across eleven sales will be available for viewing during Sotheby’s Masters Week 2024.
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  • George Romney
    This painting of Frances (née Puleston) Cooke is an exemplary display of George Romney’s portrait style, utilizing a simple composition and a focus on the sitter’s beauty. It will be sold in the Master Paintings & Sculpture Part I auction, alongside over 50 works by artists including Sir Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough.
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  • Virgin and Child
    Two paintings of Virgin and Child, by the Brussels School (left) and Master of the Female Half-Lengths (right) are prepared for installation. While depicting the same subject, the styles are quite different, one with a distinct and intricate gold background, the other is more subtly accented. Painted within the same half century, they demonstrate the quickly evolving styles used to represent religious iconography.
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  • Scipione Pulzone
    The Portrait of a Young Noblewoman, Possibly Identified as Lavinia della Rovere or Vittoria Accorambini by Scipione Pulzone is hung by two art handlers. The delicate facial features, intricate lace and richly adorned velvet – which one can nearly feel through the canvas – all highlight why Pulzone was the leading portraitist in Rome at the end of the 16th century.
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  • Attributed to Pietro Bellotti
    Temptation of a Scholar, attributed to Pietro Belloti, warns men against succumbing to distractions. This is illustrated in the dichotomy of the man’s wrinkled skin and modest dress, and the youthful woman’s nudity and jeweled accessories. The ever-present temptation continues even beyond the frame with the scholar being surrounded by more beautiful faces in the Portrait of Saint Agnes on the left and Portrait of a Young Woman in a Purple Gown on the right.
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  • Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun
    A Scholar Collects features several paintings and drawings by Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun from the exceptional collection of art historian Joseph Baillio, a leading expert on the artist. Trained in both pastels and oil, Vigée Le Brun not only was one of the most successful female artists of the 18th century, but also one of the most highly regarded portraitists of the time, regardless of gender.
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  • Barbara Longhi
    A specialist conducts a condition check on Self-Portrait of the Artist as Saint Catherine of Alexandria. While originally believed to be painted by her father, Luca, the painting was later properly attributed to Barbara Longhi, one of the female artists represented in the Master Paintings Part II auction, live on 1 February.
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  • From the Metropolitan Museum of Art
    George Romney’s Portrait of Frances (née Puleston) Cooke is installed by two art handlers between Sir Joshua Reynolds’ Portrait of Nancy (née Parsons) Horton, Later Viscountess Maynard (left) and Thomas Gainsborough’s Portrait of John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire (right). They represent three of five works being sold by the Metropolitan Museum of Art to benefit the museum’s acquisition fund.
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  • Sir Anthony van Dyck
    Sir Anthony van Dyck’s Self-Portrait with Upturned Mustache and Raised Left Hand is part of a collection of self-portraits produced by the artist. Later in his career, as seen here, van Dyck represents himself rather simply, without gold chains and formal dress, illustrating his assurance in his position as an established and favored artist.
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  • Hand-Blown Prosthetic Eyes
    A specialist unwraps a hand-blown glass prosthetic eye, part of a set of 48. This is just one example of the countless unique and wonderful pieces from the collection of Ian and Carolina Irving, for sale in the live auction, The Pleasure of Objects, on 30 January.
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  • Willem Koekkoek
    Willem Koekkoek’s Street Scene in Amsterdam is part of the 19th Century European Paintings & Sculpture auction being held on 2 February. This sale features more than 100 works from artists like Jean-Baptitste-Camille Corot and Gustav Bauernfeind, as well as prominent female artists including Rosa Bonheur and Elisabeth Sonrel.
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  • Marble Rib Cage
    A pair of art handlers adjust the Skeletal Rib Cage, carved from marble in the 15th century. Originally, it was a part of a funerary monument and represents the artistic trope of memento mori. The torso will be sold among a curated selection of wood, silver and porcelain pieces in the Master Sculpture & Works of Art auction on 2 February .
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  • Paolo Pagani
    An art handler installs Paolo Pagani’s Jupiter and Mercury (right) as the 17th-century Penitent Magdalene (left) seemingly watches from the other frame. Pagani expertly uses light and shadow to bring movement to the piece.
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