Christie's To Offer Antonio Homem Sonnabend Collection For Over $50 Million

(MENAFN- USA Art News) Christie's will auction the Antonio Homem Sonnabend Collection this fall, with an estimated value exceeding $50 million. The collection features prominent works by artists such as Jeff Koons, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Roy Lichtenstein, and Andy Warhol.

Antonio Homem was the adopted son of art dealers Ileana and Michael Sonnabend. He managed their extensive collection during his lifetime, which included post-war and contemporary art, photographs, prints, multiples, and design pieces. These works will be presented during Christie's 20th/21st Century Evening Sales in London, Paris, and New York.

The sale includes pieces primarily produced between the late 1950s and 1960s, drawn from the family's private holdings. Notable lots include Mario Schifano's A de Chirico (1962), Warhol's Campbell's Soup Can (Turkey Noodle) (1962), and Robert Rauschenberg's Triple Rauschenberg [Bob Rauschenberg #2] (1962). Other highlights are Jasper Johns' Numbers (1957), Jeff Koons' Ode to Love (2010–17), and Rauschenberg's Untitled (Collage with Cuff) (1957). Christie's stated that individual estimates were not available at the time of press.

Antonio's son, Antonio Phokion Potamianos-Homem, shared in a press statement that his father spent his life“among these works, and parting with them is not done lightly.” Additionally, two works by Lichtenstein and Warhol from the Sonnabend Collection Mantova, a museum in northern Italy that Antonio helped open in 2025, will be sold to establish an endowment for the institution. The Sonnabend Collection Mantova currently holds works by Lichtenstein, Warhol, and Koons.

Potamianos-Homem further stated,“We proudly carry on Ileana and Antonio's transatlantic vision, ensuring a vital exchange of artists and artworks between Europe and America, and ensuring the eye that assembled this collection continues to be seen.” Ileana Sonnabend played a crucial role in introducing European audiences to artists like Warhol, Johns, Lichtenstein, and Rauschenberg, while also bringing works by Gilbert & George, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Schifano, and Giovani Anselmo to the US.

Sara Friedlander, chairman of post-war and contemporary art at Christie's, emphasized that Ileana's contribution to the“trajectory of Post-War and Contemporary art cannot be overstated.” Friedlander added that the collection exemplifies“the very finest in post-war artistic movements across Europe and the U.S.” Ileana founded Sonnabend Gallery in New York's Soho neighborhood in 1971, with Antonio's assistance, sharing a building with other dealers including Leo Castelli, John Weber, and André Emmerich. In 2000, the gallery relocated to Chelsea. Following Ileana's death in 2007, Antonio assumed the role of director, subsequently establishing the Sonnabend Collection Foundation in 2009 to preserve his family's art holdings. Many of these artists are well-represented in major American museum collections, underscoring the collection's significance to the US art historical narrative.

We previously reported:

Christie's will auction British collector Peter Simon's art collection, valued at up to £127 million, featuring works by Bacon, Mondrian, and Warhol.

Eight paintings from the collection of late record producer Clive Davis, estimated at over $35 million, will be offered at Christie's November sales in New

Christie's will auction an anonymous single-owner collection of 600 Modernist works, valued at $40 million to $60 million, featuring Paul Signac.

Source: ARTnews

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