Emily Fisher Landau was, simply put, one of the greatest collectors and patrons of the twentieth century. Her legacy is set apart for her deep and longstanding involvement with leading institutions, in particular the Whitney Museum of American Art, as well as her profound engagement with the art and artists of her time and her unerring instinct as a collector at the highest level. Fisher Landau assembled one of the greatest collections of modern and contemporary art – over 100 works of which are coming to auction at Sotheby’s on 8–9 November.
Join us over the next 20 days leading up to the Emily Fisher Landau Evening Auction on 8 November as our specialists spotlight 20 key works from the Collection, celebrating their impact on twentieth-century art. Here, Kelsey Leonard reflects on the significance of Jasper Johns’ Flags as part of our series The Emily Fisher Landau Collection: Twentieth Century Art in Twenty Unforgettable Works.
Jasper Johns' Flags is a landmark work in the artist’s brilliant investigations of familiar images. In Flags, Johns seeks to unravel deeper, hidden meaning within American iconography, reshaping the way that people view art in the process. Johns’ signature brand of reinvention raises challenging new questions about American culture and our own perceptions of it. This now iconic image, is one of many masterpieces being offered from the Emily Fisher Landau's Collection on 8 November 2023.
