This May, Sotheby’s will offer a curated selection of works from the personal collection of Barbara Gladstone, the influential art dealer who died last year at 89, Bloomberg reported Friday.
The 12 lots, estimated at over $12 million, are set to be sold in a standalone auction just before the May 15 evening contemporary sale.
The sale includes major works by artists Gladstone represented, as well as pieces she simply admired. Highlights include Man Crazy Nurse (2002–03) by Richard Prince, estimated at $4 million to $6 million, which she acquired from a 2003 exhibition at her own gallery. Another Prince painting, Are You Kidding? (1988), from his Monochromatic Joke series, carries a $2.5 million to $3.5 million estimate. Additional top lots include a black Flowers painting by Andy Warhol (est. $1 million–$1.5 million), a 2006 canvas by Rudolf Stingel (est. $1.5 million–$2 million), and Mike Kelley’s Memory Ware Flat #42 (est. $700,000–$1 million).
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Bloomberg reports that all the works in the sale came from Gladstone’s personal living spaces and reflect her reputation as both a tastemaker and a connoisseur. While some artists in the sale were represented by her gallery, others were not—underscoring her wider influence as a collector with a serious eye.
Founded in 1980, Gladstone Gallery grew into a global presence representing artists like Alex Katz, Anicka Yi, and Carrie Mae Weems, along with the estates of Robert Mapplethorpe and Keith Haring. Speculation about the fate of her collection has been percolating around the art world for months. This auction is the first public offering from her estate, though more sales could follow.
As for how the works might perform amidst a cooling art market, art advisor and trustee of Gladstone’s estate Allan Schwartzman told Bloomberg that top works still command strong interest.
“My experience with the art market is that when exceptional works come forward, collectors meet those works, even if they’re offered at times when people wouldn’t otherwise be seeking to buy,” Schwartzman said.
