Ileana Sonnabend's Collection Heads To Auction, Show Opens In Rome

(MENAFN- USA Art News) Artworks from the collection of legendary dealer Ileana Sonnabend (1914–2007) are headed to auction in New York next week, with estimates ranging from $43 million to $66 million. Concurrently, her legacy is being celebrated in Rome with“Fireworks: Ileana Sonnabend and the Contemporary Art Boom,” a major exhibition at the 19th-century Palazzo delle Esposizioni.

On November 19, Christie's will feature 20 pieces from Sonnabend's estate, consigned by her adopted son Antonio Homem, in its 21st-century art evening sale. These include paintings by Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Jasper Johns, alongside two sculptures by Jeff Koons. This follows an $11 million sale in Paris last month, making this the second tranche from the Sonnabend collection to hit the market this fall.

The exhibition in Rome, which opened on November 2, showcases 50 works by three dozen artists Sonnabend supported through her galleries in Paris, Geneva, and New York. A 9-foot-tall Koons Balloon Venus Lespugue (Orange), 2013–19, is a central feature. Antonio Phokion Potamianos-Homem, Sonnabend's grandson and president of the Sonnabend Collection Foundation, described his grandmother as a“catalyst,” stating during the Rome opening,“The gallery was, first and foremost, a meeting place, rarely a commercial venture.”

Despite this, Sonnabend's curatorial judgment proved highly influential in the market. Artists she championed now see their works command significant sums; for instance, Koons has held the auction record for a living artist since 2019, when his Rabbit (1986) sold for $91.1 million at Christie's. Proceeds from two upcoming lots, estimated at up to $23 million, are designated for the foundation established to maintain her legacy.

Valentina Castellani, author of Trading Beauty: Art Market Histories from the Altar to the Gallery, noted,“She wanted to promote the art, and then the market would follow.” Together with her first husband, Leo Castelli, Sonnabend developed what Castellani calls“the Castelli-Sonnabend model,” known for discovering new talent, artist devotion, museum cultivation, and international distribution.

Potamianos-Homem added that Sonnabend was motivated by a genuine interest in people and a desire to be“shocked.” He explained,“She was primarily focused on the idea that something interesting was going to happen by introducing them to the public. Whether or not the work was going to appeal to the public was secondary.” The Rome exhibition, curated by Mario Codognato, is organized thematically rather than chronologically, with Potamianos-Homem likening each room to a“dinner conversation” or a“dialogue between the artists.” One notable juxtaposition includes Koons's Venus, Luigi Ontani's glazed terracotta Cristoforo Colombo (1996–98), and Lichtenstein's Pistol (1964). Potamianos-Homem remarked on this grouping,“There's the highly material, the anti-material, and the joke on the material, you know?”

After opening her Paris gallery in 1962, Sonnabend staged solo shows for Johns and Robert Rauschenberg. She also presented Warhol's European debut with his“Death and Disaster” paintings, which provoked Parisian audiences. Potamianos-Homem noted,“Her experiment was to see how Europe would react to these very American artists.” Returning to New York in the early 1970s, she introduced American audiences to Italian Arte Povera artists such as Michelangelo Pistoletto and Jannis Kounellis. Her inaugural show at her 420 West Broadway SoHo gallery featured Gilbert and George, followed by Vito Acconci's Seedbed (1972) performance.

In the early 1980s, Sonnabend began representing Koons, who would present his work with a slide projector at her gallery. Pepi Marchetti Franchi, senior director at Gagosian in Rome, commented,“She was essential in supporting and promoting him at an early stage, when he had not made it yet and his work was becoming incredibly ambitious and challenging.” Koons himself expressed deep appreciation for Sonnabend, highlighting her intelligence, empathy, generosity, and maternal instincts. He recounted,“I remember her telling Antonio: 'Just let Jeff make anything he wants.'” Koons said that soon after joining Sonnabend, he traveled to Europe to find specialists for his“Banality” series, which debuted in 1988 at the Carnegie International survey in Pittsburgh. Sonnabend's support continued through the controversy of Koons's“Made in Heaven” series and the creation of his“Celebration” sculptures. The Sonnabend gallery continued its involvement with Koons's works even after her death in 2007, until Homem closed it in 2014, according to the artist.

Koons described Sonnabend as humble despite her wealth, focusing on her gallery, artists, and a lifestyle of travel and culture. He added that for her, the ultimate luxury was traveling with her own pillow, calling it“an extravagance, but in such a practical way.”

Christie's approach to selling the collection reflects Sonnabend's trajectory, beginning with Paris auctions and moving to New York. Kat Widing, head of Christie's 21st-century evening sale including the Sonnabend consignment, noted that the auction house floor in New York features a replica of the black and white tiles from the dealer's Paris gallery. The top estimate for next week's sale is for Lichtenstein's Large Spool (1963), valued at $10 million to $15 million. This piece was initially intended for the Whitney Museum's Lichtenstein exhibition, but the family opted to sell it. Warhol's Campbell's Soup Can (Turkey Noodle), 1962, is estimated at $6 million to $8 million, while Koons's Hulk (Friends), 2004–12, is estimated at $3.5 million to $5.5 million. Johns's Numbers (1957) is estimated at $3 million to $5 million. Proceeds from the sale of Large Spool and Campbell's Soup Can will benefit the foundation, Christie's confirmed.

Collector Peter M. Brant, known for acquiring works by artists championed by Sonnabend and Castelli, commented,“She had one of the greatest eyes of her time.” He recalled purchasing his first significant painting from her, Warhol's Gangster Funeral, for $30,000, which he noted was a substantial sum at the time, equivalent to the cost of a Cadillac at $4,000.

Source: Artnet News

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