Nine Works from Jeff Koons’s Private Collection Will Join Christie’s Sale
A Picasso in the upcoming sale went for $17.4 million at Sotheby’s in 2008, but may go for far more this time
The upcoming “Christie’s Presents: Heroes and Lovers A Distinguished Private Collection” auction in New York will feature seven works created between 1510 and 1969, from a collection of nine, each one by a top name in art history. There will be no less that four Picassos, a pastel by Edouard Manet, a painting by Cornelis Corneliszoon van Haarlem, and a sculpture by Tilman Riemenschneider. Works by François Le Moyne and Jean-Honoré Fragonard from the same group of holdings will be part of Classic Week in 2027.
While Christie’s labeled the seller as “a Distinguished Collector,” The New York Times subsequently identified the consignor as Jeff Koons, which was later carried by ArtNews and Hypebeast, among others. The nine works of art, all together, are valued in the vicinity of $100 million.
Two of the Picassos speculatively predicted to garner particular interest are 1969’s Le Baiser and Tête de femme (Dora Maar), painted in 1941. The latter carries the thrill of provenance hovering around anything linked to the artist’s tempestuous wartime romance with Ms. Maar. Tilman Riemenschneider, meanwhile, is considered a master of German Gothic who stood on the transitional bridge between that era and the Northern Renaissance.
The announcement comes as Christie’s is building out its roster for the marquee November New York Sales Week, a time when records are broken and the atmosphere feels palpable as the numbers rise. Collections previously owned by Herbert Lust and Clive Davis have already been revealed.
“Heroes and Lovers” is set to hit the block within the 20th Century Evening Sale on November 17. Major pieces from the group of nine reportedly owned by Jeff Koons will tour Christie’s locations in Hong Kong, London, Paris, and Taipei before being united en masse for display at the company’s Rockefeller Center headquarters in November.