A cross five decades, Cindy and Jay Pritzker assembled one of the most discerning collections of Modern and Impressionist art, where intellectual curiosity met aesthetic daring. At its center stands Vincent van Gogh’s Romans parisiens (Les Livres jaunes) (1887), a rare and luminous still life that marked a turning point in the artist’s Paris years. Alongside it, works by Matisse, Gauguin, Beckmann and Kirchner reveal the Pritzkers’ instinct for innovation and emotional power—a vision that extended far beyond the walls of their home.
Their legacy transcends collecting. As founders of the Pritzker Architecture Prize and champions of Chicago’s civic and cultural identity, Cindy and Jay Pritzker redefined what it means to live with art and to give back through it.
Now, Sotheby’s traces the story of two collectors whose passion for creativity, design, and philanthropy reshaped the artistic landscape of a city—and whose influence continues to ripple through the worlds of art, architecture, and culture today.
For the first time, works from their remarkable collection will be unveiled at Sotheby’s in The Cindy and Jay Pritzker Collection on 20 November — a presentation of rarely seen masterworks by some of the most celebrated names in art history, including Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Wassily Kandinsky, Henri Matisse, Joan Miró, Max Beckmann, and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner.
Within the same inaugural series at Sotheby’s new Breuer Building headquarters, additional highlights by Le Corbusier, Georges Braque, Fernando Botero, Alexander Calder, and others will appear in the Modern Day Auction on 21 November, with further offerings to follow across Books & Manuscripts, Sculpture & Works of Art, Chinese Works of Art, and more.
