Two Auctions to Watch: Leonard Lauder and Elaine Wynn Collections

This November, the New York auction season will be defined by two historic sales: the dispersal of works from the collection of Leonard Lauder at Sotheby’s and the auction of Elaine Wynn’s collection at Christie’s. Together, these events represent not only extraordinary market opportunities but also a passing of the torch in the history of collecting.

Leonard Lauder at Sotheby’s

Following his passing in July at the age of 92, Leonard Lauder’s collection will be offered at Sotheby’s inaugural sale in its new Marcel Breuer–designed building. Valued at more than $400 million, the consignment underscores Lauder’s reputation as one of the foremost American collectors of his generation.

The undisputed highlight is Gustav Klimt’s Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer (1914–16), carrying an estimate in excess of $150 million. This full-length portrait, one of the few remaining in private hands, is positioned to set a new record for Klimt, surpassing the $108.4 million achieved by Lady with a Fan in 2023. Two Klimt landscapes—Meadow (1906) and Forest (1917)—are also included, with combined expectations of nearly $200 million.

Beyond Klimt, the Lauder sale features six Henri Matisse bronzes valued collectively at $30 million, an Edvard Munch painting estimated at $20 million, and an Agnes Martin painting expected to achieve more than $10 million. In total, 55 works will come to market, reflecting both Lauder’s discerning eye and his decades-long role as a trustee and chairman emeritus of the Whitney Museum.

Elaine Wynn at Christie’s

Christie’s will present Elaine: The Collection of Elaine Wynn across three marquee sales, offering 20 works with a collective estimate of $75 million. Wynn, who died in April, was a noted philanthropist, collector, and former co-chair of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).

Her most celebrated acquisition, Francis Bacon’s Three Studies of Lucian Freud (1969), purchased for $142.2 million in 2013, will not appear at auction; instead, it has been gifted to LACMA, marking the museum’s first Bacon and ensuring public access to one of the 20th century’s most iconic works.

Highlights of the Christie’s sales include Richard Diebenkorn’s Ocean Park #40 (1971), Lucian Freud’s The Painter Surprised by a Naked Admirer (2004–05), and Joan Mitchell’s Sunflower V (1969). A J. M. W. Turner canvas first exhibited in 1835 will also be offered, anchoring the historical reach of Wynn’s collection.

Why These Auctions Matter

Together, the Lauder and Wynn collections showcase two distinct approaches to connoisseurship: Lauder’s emphasis on European modernism and museum-quality holdings, and Wynn’s taste for postwar, contemporary, and blue-chip works that bridged her personal residences and public institutions.

For collectors and investors, these sales signal a crucial barometer for the market. The Lauder Klimts will test the depth of demand for trophy works in a moment of broader uncertainty, while Wynn’s offerings will reveal how postwar and contemporary paintings perform amid shifting valuations.

Both sales are more than market events—they are opportunities to witness the legacies of two transformative collectors and to see how their visions of art will circulate into new hands, shaping the next chapter of collecting.

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