Sotheby’s is about to turn a pair of very polished lives into a two-part auction season.
In April and May, the house will present roughly 135 works from the collection of Jean and Terry de Gunzburg, carrying a combined estimate of $67 million to $99 million. The first chapter arrives on April 22 with a dedicated design sale in New York, estimated at $30 million to $44 million and described by Sotheby’s as “the most valuable single-owner design sale in its history.” A selection of modern and contemporary art will follow in the May evening sales.
The de Gunzburgs’ Upper East Side apartment has been widely admired for its blend of Parisian-chic detailing and museum-caliber art and design. Ornate moldings and parquet floors frame Art Deco furniture alongside works by Rothko, Picasso, Calder, and others. It is a lived-in but carefully composed interior.
One of the highlights of the May sales will be Mark Rothko’s Untitled (1969), estimated at $10 million to $15 million. Executed in the penultimate year of the artist’s life, the painting relates closely to the period of the artist’s Rothko Chapel commission and was included in a 1996–97 exhibition at the Menil Collection revisiting that body of work. Also headed to the block are Agnes Martin’s Untitled #6 (1977), estimated at $3 million to $4 million, and Robert Ryman’s Versions III (1992), estimated at $2.5 million to $3.5 million. A 1955 Picasso portrait and a 1932 Paul Klee will round out the group.
The April design sale is anchored by an ensemble of 15 mirrors by Claude Lalanne created between 1974 and 1985 for the music room of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé’s Paris apartment. The group is estimated at $10 million to $15 million. The first two mirrors were Lalanne’s earliest explorations of the form, later joined by 13 additional works to complete the installation. Together, they represent a rare opportunity to acquire a commission originally conceived as a unified interior.
A portrait by Pablo Picasso in the de Gunzburgs’ library. Courtesy Sotheby’s.
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Other highlights from the design sale include a circa 1926 shagreen cabinet by André Groult, estimated at $600,000 to $800,000; a pair of mahogany cabinets by Alexandre Noll from around 1946, estimated at $700,000 to $1 million; and Jean Royère’s “Ours Polaire” sofa and matching armchairs from circa 1950, each estimated at $600,000 to $800,000. Works by Jean-Michel Frank, Paul Dupré-Lafon, Jean Dunand, and others round out the offering.
In Sotheby’s announcement, Jean and Terry de Gunzburg described collecting as “a journey guided entirely by instinct, curiosity, and the pleasure of living with works that moved us deeply.” Terry, founder of the beauty brand By Terry and former creative director at Yves Saint Laurent Beauté, has also said the couple saw themselves as “more amateurs than collectors,” with each acquisition sparked by a coup de foudre.
As for why they are selling now, Terry has said that at 70 she wants to give her children the opportunity to build their own collections and to create more flexible spaces for family life. Proceeds are expected to support philanthropic efforts related to cultural, educational, and scientific causes.
For Sotheby’s, the sale builds on recent momentum in the design category. The house’s December 2025 Design Week in New York totaled nearly $60 million and set a new auction record for François-Xavier Lalanne’s Hippopotame Bar. The de Gunzburg collection arrives at a moment when top-tier 20th-century design is being positioned alongside blue-chip fine art.
