Sotheby’s will auction notable sculptures by Isamu Noguchi and Marisol in the upcoming Abrams Family Collection sale on September 27th in New York. The sale will highlight the multigenerational art collection of publishing mogul Harry N. Abrams and his son Robert Abrams. It follows the younger Abrams’s death last year at the age of 80.
Noguchi’s marble sculpture Study for Energy Void (1971) is valued at $3 million–$5 million. Robert Abrams acquired it directly from the artist in 1979. Carved from a single slab of marble, this piece is a critical example of Noguchi’s exploration of form and negative space. Noguchi created three sculptures exploring the concept of the energy void, or the synthesis of physical form and absence. The example on offer at Sotheby’s is the only one made in marble.
Meanwhile, Marisol’s The Bicycle Race (1962–63) is expected to fetch $250,000–$350,000 at the auction. This work, depicting two wooden sculptural figures mounted on bicycles, is one of the artist’s most significant pieces to appear at auction since The Cocktail Party (1965–66) achieved her auction record of $912,000 at Sotheby’s New York in 2005. Notably, The Bicycle Race was featured in a Life magazine article on Harry Abrams published in 1965. In 1968, it was one of the eight works featured in the Venezuelan pavilion at the Venice Biennale.
“The mission that drove the Abrams Family’s collecting philosophy is truly inspiring,” said Nicole Schloss, senior specialist of contemporary art at Sotheby’s. “They were unwaveringly dedicated to furthering the careers of the artists they believed in and fervently supported them through publishing their works, generously loaning to exhibitions, and above all, counting many of the artists as friends. Their visionary eye for the best artists of their time and their understanding of contemporary art as ever-shifting is reflected in the diversity of the works they collected.”
Also up for auction is Alex Katz’s portrait Joan (1974), valued between $1.5 million and $2 million. A rare example of a nude portrait by the artist, Joan portrays a friend of the Katz family in the hazy light of his SoHo studio. Other noteworthy artworks in the sale include Bob Thompson’s Nativity Scene (c. 1964), with an estimate of $500,000–$700,000, and Fernando Botero’s El Cardenal (1977), estimated at $700,000–$1 million.
The Abrams family often acquired artworks the year they were created or soon after, directly from the artist or the first presenting gallery. Many works in this sale are appearing at auction for the first time.
