Leading Art Collectors and Generous Arts Supporters Lined Up as Sellers for May's New York Auctions
Revved Up for the Big Sale: Gear up, art enthusiasts! The annual May extravaganza is almost upon us. Kicking off next week at Christie's, we've got a double-header lined up: a sale showcasing the late Leonard Riggio's collection, followed by their 20th-century evening auction.
As always, these sales will be under the microscope, providing insights into the market's current direction. We're now two years into a subdued market, as demonstrated by Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report's findings that global art sales shrank by 12 percent last year. But it's not all doom and gloom. A closer look suggests a few promising trends, such as the increase in volume of transactions thanks to the sale of lower-valued works[1].
With the broader economy skating on thin ice, it's no surprise that galleries participating in this week's New York fairs are curious about collector buying activity[2]. But first, let's talk consignors.
This season, there's been no shortage of the who's who consigning their works across the three auction houses' sales. Christie's has, of course, the Riggios, but we also see the house of Anne and Sid Bass, Tiqui Atencio and Ago Demirdjian, businessman Jeffrey P. Draime and his wife, among others. At Sotheby's, we've got art dealer Daniella Luxembourg's collection, the estate of Barbara Gladstone, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. And at Phillips, we have works from the collection of Chicago businessman Ray Allen and wife Sally, and the collection of Lydia Winston Malbin[3].
Now, let's delve into what the auction houses – and the consignors – would rather keep quiet.
First up is Dorothea Tanning's Endgame, a compact 17-inch oil painting last sold during a Sotheby's estate sale in 1981. Due to Christie's marketing it as Tanning's "masterpiece," the painting's history has been traced to none other than the family of late arts patrons Harold and Gertrud Parker[4]. With a $1 million to $1.5 million estimate, it's set to appear at Christie's 20th Century evening sale.
At the same sale, we find Robert Motherwell's Elegy to the Spanish Republic No. 160, a large acrylic and charcoal work from 1979. Christie's highlights it as an offering from an "important Private Swiss Collection." Traced back to its sale from Zurich's M. Knoedler gallery in 1982, the work can be found in Volume Two of Motherwell's 2012 catalogue raisonneé, where it's listed as in the Hess Art Collection, the collection of Swiss art collector and vintner Donald Hess, who often appeared on the Top 200 and passed away in 2023[5].
While much attention is being given to Warhol's Big Electric Chair at Christie's 20th Century sale, we uncovered the consignor for a different Warhol in the sale, a 1966 self-portrait with an estimate of $4 million to $6 million. Last sold in 1980 from Galerie Bruno Bischofberger in Zurich, the work appears in Volume 2B of The Andy Warhol Catalogue Raisonneé of Paintings and Sculptures 1964-1969, published in 2004, where it lists Bischofberger himself below that work[6].
Meanwhile, at Sotheby's The Now and Contemporary evening sale, Agnes Martin's Untitled #11 (1997) will hit the block with an estimate of $2.5 million to $3.5 million. Traced back to its sale at Pace (then PaceWildenstein) in 2002, the work is listed as in the collection of Top 200 collector Aaron I. Fleischman in Tiffany Bell's Agnes Martin: Catalogue Raisonné: Paintings. The work at Sotheby's should not be confused with a different work by Martin, also titled Untitled #11, consigned by the Bass House at Christie's 20th century evening sale the following week[7].
Last but not least, at Phillips, the David Hockney oil painting The Twenty-Sixth V.N. Painting (1992) heads to the block with a $2.5 million to $3.5 million estimate and a portion of proceeds earmarked for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The painting has been in the same collector's hands since it was sold by LA Louver Gallery. In 2017-2018, it appeared in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's "David Hockney" exhibition, where it was listed as in the collection of tech entrepreneur and philanthropist David C. Bohnett. His foundation confirmed to us that it owns and has consigned the piece[8].
Christie's, Sotheby's, and Phillips all declined to comment on the identity of their consignors. Consignors named here aside from Bohnett were contacted for comment, none responded at press time.
[1] Global Art Market Report 2025[2] Trump's Tariffs Affect Art Sales and Galleries[3] Art Market Post-Covid[4] Dorothea Tanning: A Brief History[5] Donald Hess and His Art Collection[6] The Andy Warhol Catalogue Raisonné[7] Agnes Martin: Catalogue Raisonné[8] David C. Bohnett Foundation
- The annual May art extravaganza, featuring sales at Christie's, includes a double-header event: the sale showcasing the late Leonard Riggio's art collection, followed by their 20th-century evening auction.
- These sales provide insights into the current direction of the art market, as global art sales have shrunk by 12 percent last year, according to Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report.
- Collectors consigning their works across the three auction houses' sales for this season include the Riggios, Anne and Sid Bass, Tiqui Atencio and Ago Demirdjian, Jeffrey P. Draime, Daniella Luxembourg, the estate of Barbara Gladstone, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
- A notable painting, Dorothea Tanning's 'Endgame', with a $1 million to $1.5 million estimate, is set to appear at Christie's 20th Century evening sale and traces its history to the family of late arts patrons Harold and Gertrud Parker.
- A large acrylic and charcoal work by Robert Motherwell, 'Elegy to the Spanish Republic No. 160', is expected at Christie's 20th Century evening sale and has been traced back to the M. Knoedler gallery sale in 1982.
- Warhol's 1966 self-portrait, with an estimate of $4 million to $6 million, which will be up for sale at a Christie's 20th Century sale, has a history that can be traced to Galerie Bruno Bischofberger in Zurich.
- Agnes Martin's 'Untitled #11' (1997) will be auctioned at Sotheby's The Now and Contemporary evening sale and can be traced back to its sale at Pace in 2002.
