Sotheby’s Embraces Celebrity Curators and Parisian Dining

Basketball star Karl-Anthony Towns and his wife, model and entrepreneur Jordyn Woods, are set to become the latest celebrities to dip their toes into the auction world by curating a sale with Sotheby’s New York next month.

Spanning a range of genres and media, the pair’s selection comprises 10 works by artists such as John Chamberlain, Andy Warhol, and Helen Frankenthaler. Two more contemporary pieces—George Condo’s abstract painting I Want My Brain Back (2020) and an untitled 2021 watercolor by Sam Gilliam—join a line-up dominated by postwar and late 20th-century works.

In an Instagram reel introducing the collaboration, Towns and Woods expressed their gratitude for being recognised by the art community. “It’s such an honour,” Woods said, “to be respected by, obviously, the most respected auction house in the world.”

The sale’s top lot, a Warhol flower silkscreen estimated at $2.5 million - $3.5 million, is drawn from the collection of the late architect and former dean of the Yale School of Architecture Robert A.M. Stern. The pop art icon spoke to Woods in particular, who said in a statement that it’s a work the couple could “easily imagine living with”.

John Chamberlain’s Untitled (1967), another work hailing from Stern’s collection, might be a less straightforward fit in the pair’s luxury south California compound. Made from galvanised steel, the large floor sculpture takes the shape of a crushed box. 

The 30-year old Towns, a six-time NBA All-Star, is widely recognised for his philanthropic and community projects. Woods has made her name as a model and entrepreneur, having launched several lifestyle and beauty brands.

In a joint statement, the pair described their approach to collecting as based on connection and personal experience. “Whether it’s an artist, a memory, a cultural influence, or a moment from our travels, the works that mean the most to us are the ones that continue to reveal something new every time we see them,” they said.

Two of the featured artists, Condo and Rashid Johnson, are described as close friends of the couple, who tied the knot earlier this summer. Nevertheless, their Sotheby’s sale, running from 2–6 October, marks their first official foray into the art world, following a line of previous celebrities turned curators at the house. 

Victoria Beckham’s selection of works, ranging from Joan Mitchell and Yves Klein to Jean-Michel Basquiat, went on sale at Sotheby’s London in February 2025. Robert Pattinson and Oprah Winfrey lent their curatorial eyes  to the auction house’s Contemporary Curated series in 2022 and 2019, respectively.

The auction house has also recently announced its own venture into an adjacent field with Chez Sotheby’s, described as a “living environment that brings together art, dining and cultural exchange”. Taking place during Art Basel Paris, the space, which is “neither an exhibition nor a restaurant”, will nonetheless offer for sale almost $150 million worth of works by the likes of Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, alongside a menu by chef Erika Blu of Atelier Renata.

While such art world dabbling clearly serves the celebrities’—and, perhaps, the chef’s— efforts at cultural positioning, both new ventures are just as plainly smart promotional moves for the auction house.