In a recent announcement by Sotheby’s earlier this week, a significant collection of modern and contemporary art compiled by two of the 20th century’s most renowned collectors is expected to generate in excess of $85 million in sales during Sotheby’s upcoming contemporary and modern art auctions next month.
As recently reported here, some of the prized items in the collection leading next month’s series of contemporary and modern art auctions include Mark Rothko’s 1951 canvas entitled “No. 21 (Red, Brown, Black and Orange),” which is expected to fetch more than $50 million, and works by Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, and Andy Warhol, along with other prominent artists from the private art collection of Pierre and Sao Schlumberger. According to Oliver Barker, deputy chairman of Sotheby’s Europe, the couple’s collection is highly regarded as “one of the most important private collections of our time.”
For those not familiar with the Schlumberger name, Pierre Schlumberger was a French oil industry tycoon whose father and uncle in the 1920s founded Schlumberger Limited, which is the world’s largest oil field services company.
The Schlumberger collection is comprised of some 90 works and is among the many highly anticipated works of the fall auction season.
Sotheby’s further announced last week that it is selling the iconic sculpture “Chariot” by Alberto Giacometti – it has been reported that such work could sell for more than $100 million.
The highlights of the collection will be on view in Hong Kong and London prior to a special exhibition of the entire collection in New York later this month. The first offerings of the Schlumberger collection will be featured at Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Art auction on November 4, and the other works will be offered at the auction house’s contemporary art auctions through November 12.
For a glimpse into the exquisite Schlumberger collection, view here.