Sotheby’s will offer three artworks from the collection of Harry F. Guggenheim as part of its Modern Evening sale in November.
The proceeds of the three works, Alberto Giacometti’s bronze sculpture Buste (Tête tranchante) (Diego), Franz Marc‘s painting Das Lange Gelbe Pferd and Paul Gaugin’s ceramic sculpture La Femme noire, will benefit the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation.
“Harry Frank Guggenheim exhibited an extraordinary drive for innovation, with contributions that profoundly influenced the very fabric of American life. These works, which will be coming to the market for the first time in nearly 70 years, serve as a testament to his bold vision, offering rare insight into the personal tastes of a man who was so critical in shaping modern art as we understand it today. They present a unique opportunity for collectors to continue in that esteemed legacy,” Sotheby’s senior director and international specialist Fergus Duff said in a press statement.
The three works are the first consignment announcement from the auction house for its fall marquee evening sales in New York.
Buste (Tête tranchante) (Diego), a sculpture of Giacometti’s brother, was acquired in 1955 soon after it was cast and was loaned to the Guggenheim Museum that year for the Swiss artist’s first museum exhibition. The “knife-blade” sculpture has an estimate of $10 million to $15 million.
Photo courtesy of Sotheby’s.
Franz Marc’s colorful painting of a yellow horse, Das Lange Gelbe Pferd (1913), was created right before the beginning of World War I. Its estimate is $8 million to $12 million.
Photo courtesy of Sotheby’s.
Paul Gauguin‘s La Femme noir (1889) was made by the artist after a visit to the island of Martinique in 1886. The glazed ceramic work depicts a Martiniquais woman with a male head on her lap. The work is coming to public sale for the first time and carries an estimate of $700,000 to $1 million.
In addition to Harry F. Guggenheim’s role as chairman of the board of trustees at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, the American businessman and former US ambassador to Cuba championed Frank Lloyd Wright as the museum’s architect, drove important acquisitions for the institution, help build its programming strategy, and conceived of the Guggenheim International Award for groundbreaking artists.
The Harry F. Guggenheim Foundation is a non-profit organization which “supports work in the social and natural sciences and aligned disciplines to increase understanding of the causes, manifestations, and control of violence in the contemporary world.” It was founded in 1929.
