Japanese Garden, Nam June Paik, 1994
Courtesy of Bonhams and The Holly Solomon Collection
On May 15, 2025 Bonhams will hold their daytime Post-War & Contemporary Art auction and that night The 20th/21st Century Art Evening Sale. Those auctions will include seldom seen museum quality works by iconic artists such as Robert Rauschenberg, Nam June Paik, Christo, Gordon Matta-Clark, and Richard Pettibone, from the collection of legendary New York gallerist Holly Solomon.
Post-War Contemporary Art History has often failed to acknowledge the importance of the women gallerists who championed the groundbreaking artists of their time. One could count among them Peggy Guggenheim and Betty Parsons and also Ileana Sonnabend, Marian Goodman, and Mary Boone. But a special place should be reserved for Holly Solomon, who supported many of the most avant-garde artists whose work seems today more relevant than ever.
Holly Solomon
Courtesy of John Solomon
Solomon bravely represented conceptual artists such as Paik and Gordon Matta-Clark, and artists from the Arte Povera, and the Pattern and Decoration movements. Among the artists whose early work she supported were Laurie Anderson and Robert Mapplethorpe. Her portrait was done by Warhol, Rauschenberg, Mapplethope, and Roy Lichtenstein, among others.
I recall visiting her gallery in Soho, and then on Fifth Avenue and 57th Street, where she could be seen at openings as much a star as the artists she showed. I never really met her, but many years later, I shared an office with her son, John Solomon, at the internet Startup, Fanista.
Claes Oldenburg, Model Plug – Giant Fan
Courtesy of Bonhams and The Holly Solomon Collection
The 20th/21st Century Art Evening Sale, has a significant early Claes Oldenburg wooden maquette. Model Plug – Giant Fan which will certainly be a valued trophy for any art collector, as well as a portrait of Holly Solomon in wrapped form, done by Christo.
Wrapped Magazines by Christo
Courtesy of Bonhams and The Holly Solomon Collection
From the Holly Solomon collection, The Post War & Contemporary Art Auction is offering two wall works by Naim June Pai, Japanese Garden and Concerto Grosso – I hope whoever purchases these donates them to a museum so we can all enjoy them. There is a Christo of Wrapped Magazines – I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a Christo wrapped work that could sit comfortably in one’s home. That one tugs at my heart.
Also offered at auction are a portrait of Holly Solomon by Rauschenberg, as well as a rare non- dog William Wegman photo, a Gordion Matta Clark, and a work by Joe Zucker.
Each of these works is distinctive, and you can really appreciate how good Holly Solomon’s eye was in collecting them.
You can bid on the auction items online, by phone or in person.