MAN RAY (1890-1976)
Portrait de Kiki
oil on canvas
Painted in 1923
$1,000,000-1,500,000
This May, Christie’s is honored to present A Century of Art: The Gerald Fineberg Collection: a rich and nuanced collection of modern, post-war and contemporary art and photography that will be presented as a standalone two-part auction during the 20/21 Century sales season in New York. Beginning with a painting by Man Ray of the muse of Modernity, Kiki de Montparnasse in 1923, the collection covers 100 years of art, exploring the most important art historical movements of the 20th century alongside interstitial parts of the canon.
In much the same way as he lived his life, Gerald Fineberg thought both widely and deeply about art. Beginning in the 1980s, he embarked upon a lifelong adventure: from encountering Jean -Michel Basquiat at a gallery opening in New York, to visiting Andy Warhol’s Factory in the months before the artist’s death. His collection is an extension of a life’s work guided by innovation, inclusivity and imagination, always with one eye on the future.
Leading collection highlights include:
- Badende a figurative masterpiece from 1967 painting by Gerhard Richter (estimate: $15,000,000 – 20,000,000),
- Christopher Wool’s Untitled rare multicolored text painting (estimate: $15,000,000 – 20,000,000),
- Buste d’homme lauré painted by Pablo Picasso in 1969.The vibrant Buste d'homme lauré (Lot 1031)is a powerful example of a theme that was central to Picasso in the last years of his life. The work was painted during Picasso's most prolific year, 1969, during which he seemed to not at all be affected by his advanced age but rather invigorated by his vast experience.
In total, the collection is expected to total in excess of $270,000,000.
Sara Friedlander, Christie’s Deputy Chairman, 20th and 21st Century Art, remarks, “Jerry bought art like a curator and built a collection that challenged the norms of what defined art history in th e 20th century. It is a captivating and dynamic collection of contemporary and modern art, representative of key movements including Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, Gutai, Pop, Minimalism, the Picture’s Generation and Arte Povera. He collected all of the ‘Ninth Street Women’ artists and went deep into the artists at Black Mountain College. This is undoubtably the defining collection of the season and the envy of every museum. We are honored to bring it to market this Spring.”