Auctions

Sotheby’s Unveils The Cindy and Jay Pritzker Collection Ahead of Auction

Highlights of the sale include works by Vincent van Gogh, Henri Matisse, Joan Miró, Paul Gaugin, and more

September 23, 2025

Framed painting of a library with bookshelves, hung above a mantel with three decorative vases, surrounded by bookshelves. — Vincent van Gogh, *Romans Parisiens (Les Livres jaunes)*.

The significant art collection of celebrated philanthropists Cindy and Jay Pritzker will be unveiled this fall at Sotheby’s, where the works will take center stage at the Breuer building’s inaugural exhibition. Select works will also embark on a global tour to Hong Kong, Abu Dhabi, London, and Paris, according to a press release.

Elderly couple smiling outdoors in black and white photo, man with arm around woman's shoulder. — Cindy and Jay Pritzker. Photo: Courtesy of Sotheby’s

The collection, which has remained private until now, includes works by Vincent van Gogh, Henri Matisse, Joan Miró, and more, and will be featured in the Modern Evening Auction, where it is expected to fetch over $120 million.

Bronze abstract sculpture resembling a bird-like figure on a stone platform outdoors with trees and grassy landscape background — Joan Miró, *La Mère Ubu.* Photo: Courtesy of Sotheby’s

Colorful abstract painting on a yellow wall in a well-decorated room with a wooden dresser and a cushioned seat. — Henri Matisse, *Léda et le cygne*. Photo: Courtesy of Sotheby’s

The Pritzkers are revered for their innumerable contributions to the city of Chicago and beyond, having established the Pritzker Architecture Prize, which is recognized as the field’s highest honor. It’s also fitting that the sale will open the Breuer building, which was reimagined under the creative direction of 2001 Pritzker Prize recipients Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron.

Three stylized figures on a beach, one holding a large fish, another with an umbrella, and a seated figure covering their face. — Max Beckmann, *Der Wels (Catfish),* (1929). Photo: Courtesy of Sotheby’s

The collection is a reflection of the Pritzkers’s own passions for the arts and literature, with van Gogh’s Romans Parisiens (Les Livres jaunes) (1887) evoking Cindy’s own appreciation for education and books. “This is the finest still life to appear on the market in decades: the luminous color palette infused with the rick vitality of van Gogh’s brushwork, and the exceptional scale—reserved for his most important paintings such as the Sunflowers—together make this a once-in-a-generation opportunity to acquire a work of such museum quality,” Helena Newman, Chairman of Impressionist and Modern Art Worldwide and Chairman of Sotheby’s Europe, said in a press release. “‘Roman Parisiens’ is among the most intellectually and emotionally revealing of van Gogh’s still lifes, encapsulating his passions for literature, for color, and for the restless pursuit of new ideas.”