Phillips to Offer Property from the Collection of Rosa and Aaron Esman
Works from 20th Century & Contemporary, Photographs, and Editions to be Sold in Upcoming New York Auctions
Robert Rauschenberg Bath, 1964 Estimate: $400,000 - 600,000 To Be Offered in May 20th Century & Contemporary Evening Sale
NEW YORK – 21 MARCH 2023 – Phillips is pleased to announce Property from the Collection of Rosa and Aaron Esman, a collection of over 150 works from their Manhattan residence. Iconic masterworks of the 1960s by Josef Albers and Robert Rauschenberg, along with an impressive assemblage of modern works on paper, photographs, and prints representing the breadth of the collection, will be offered in upcoming New York 20th Century & Contemporary, Photographs, and Editions sales. Important works by artists such as Roy Lichtenstein, Sol LeWitt, René Magritte, Jasper Johns, Jackson Pollock, Joan Miró, and many others will be included throughout sales. Select works will be on view at the Phillips Los Angeles gallery as a part of our 20th Century & Contemporary Global Highlights Tour this April, with further details to come.
Rosa and Aaron Esman assembled an outstanding array of Modern, Post-War, and Contemporary art over the course of their seventy-year marriage. Dr. Esman, a psychoanalyst, began collecting art as a reflection of his fascination with creativity and the workings of the human mind. Those interests guided his collecting activity throughout his life. The couple’s shared passion for art was evident from the early days of their courtship as they visited galleries and museums together. The collection they built over the decades, rich in Modernism, Dada, Russian Constructivism, and American Pop Art, reflects both Mrs. Esman’s career as a gallerist and print publisher and Dr. Esman’s voluminous writings on art, creativity, and the mind.
Beyond her publishing activities, Rosa Esman’s eponymous gallery exhibited in Manhattan for over twenty years, and she was a founding partner of Ubu Gallery, which is still in operation today. Her career as an art dealer predated her publishing work, beginning in 1957 when she and a friend established the Tanglewood Gallery in Norman Rockwell’s former art studio on Main Street in Stockbridge, MA.
Photography also played a large role in the Esman collection. Several of these works will be offered as a section within Phillips’ April 4th Photographs auction and will include an important selection of avant-garde photographs from the 1920s and 1930s by Man Ray, Alexander Rodchenko, and Jaromír Funke, among others, along with contemporary work by Sol Lewitt, Hiroshi Sugimoto, and Vik Muniz. Further information regarding this portion of the sale can be found here.
Click the links below for more information on each respective auction: Photographs New York Auction, 4 April 2023 10am & 2pm EDT Editions & Works on Paper New York Auction, 18 April 2023 11am EDT 20th Century & Contemporary Art Day Sale, Morning Session, 16 May 2023 10am EDT 20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale New York Auction, 17 May 5pm EDT
ABOUT PHILLIPS Phillips is a leading global platform for buying and selling 20th and 21st century art and design. With dedicated expertise in the areas of 20th Century and Contemporary Art, Design, Photographs, Editions, Watches, and Jewelry, Phillips offers professional services and advice on all aspects of collecting. Auctions and exhibitions are held at salerooms in New York, London, Geneva, and Hong Kong, while clients are further served through representative offices based throughout Europe, the United States and Asia. Phillips also offers an online auction platform accessible anywhere in the world. In addition to providing selling and buying opportunities through auction, Phillips brokers private sales and offers assistance with appraisals, valuations, and other financial services. Visit www.phillips.com for further information.
*Estimates do not include buyer’s premium; prices achieved include the hammer price plus buyer’s premium.
PRESS CONTACTS: NEW YORK – Jaime Israni, Public Relations Director, Americas jisrani@phillips.com
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