Sotheby’s Now Sale to Feature Jenny Saville’s ‘Shift’

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Sotheby’s will present more than 800 works of Modern and Contemporary art during their New York sales from 8 to 16 November.

The week begins with The Emily Fisher Landau Collection: An Era Defined, which gathers works worth an estimated U.S. $400 million.

Fisher Landau began purchasing art in earnest with an insurance payout after thieves stole her considerable jewellery collection—mostly gifted by her real estate developer husband, Martin Fisher—in 1969. By the mid-1980s she had become a trustee at the Whitney.

Among the highlights are Ed Ruscha‘s Securing the Last Letter (Boss) (1964) and Jasper Johns’ Flags (1986), each estimated for $35–45 million.

The Modern Evening Auction on 13 November includes Claude Monet‘s moody grove Peupliers au bord de l’Epte, temps couvert (1891) for $30–40 million and the Balthus portrait La Patience (1943) for $12–18 million.

Jenny Saville‘s Shift (1996–1997) (estimate: $9–12 million) will lead the Now Evening Auction, which features the most contemporary works, on 15 November. The painting by one of Britain’s celebrated YBAs comes to auction from the collection of the Long Museum’s Liu Yiqian and Wang Wei.

Other notable works in the Now sale include Kerry James Marshall‘s Plunge (1992) for $9–12 million), Jonas Wood‘s Interior with Fireplace (2012) for $2–3 million, and Elizabeth Peyton‘s Sid Vicious Arrested, Chelsea Hotel (1998) for $1.5–2 million.

The Contemporary Evening Auction, also on 15 November, is led by Jean-Michel Basquiat‘s Self-Portrait as a Heel (Part Two) (1982) for an estimated $40–60 million, Joan Mitchell‘s Sunflowers (1990–91) for $20–30 million, and Barkley L. Hendricks’ Yocks (1975) for $4–6 million. —[O]

Main image: Jenny Saville, Shift (1996–97). Oil on canvas, 330.2 by 330.2 cm. Courtesy Sotheby's.