Table of Contents
- 0.1 Guarantees ensure security
- 0.2 Surrealism of yesteryear for a surreal present
- 0.3 Better a tax that is too low than one that is too high
- 1 Sydell Miller: I resonate with Mica’s thoughts on emotion, but for me, there’s also a strong element of context and significance. I like to understand the artist’s intent and the story behind the work. I believe that art should not only bring joy but also provoke thought and conversation. I often select pieces that embody a narrative or contribute to broader cultural dialogues, making the collection feel cohesive and meaningful.
You can make money with beauty: The two successful American self-made entrepreneurs knew this, whose collections will soon generate sales worth many millions at the autumn evening auctions of modern and contemporary art in New York.
Mica Ertegun, who was born in Romania in 1926 as Ioana Maria Banu and died at an old age last December, became a refugee in the Second World War, came to Zurich, modeled in Paris and bought a chicken farm in Canada before marrying Ahmet Ertegun – the co-founder and head of the record label Atlantic Records – and moved to New York with him. She got into interior design out of boredom. Mica Ertegun admitted much later in an interview that she didn’t have much to do, so she went to decorating school. A momentous decision: She then founded the company MAC II with her friend Chessy Rayner, designed company interiors, for example for the luxury department store Saks Fifth Avenue, and influenced the home furnishings of stars like Keith Richards.
Guarantees ensure security
At Christie’s on November 19th and 20th, the first two of five lots will be auctioned off, which Mica Ertegun has put together with taste and capital: 65 lots with a total expectation of 143 to 163 million dollars, which shows a preference for architectural, Interiors and clear abstractions reveal it – above all a painting from 1954 by the surrealist René Magritte from his series, valued at an incredible 95 million dollars “L’Empire des lumières”, which shows a house lit up at night under a day-blue sky. This makes it not only the most expensive lot of the season, but is also set to become the most expensive work by the surrealist ever auctioned. It is backed by a third party guarantee. A “significant” portion of the proceeds will go to philanthropic purposes.
With 83 lots more extensive and a total expectation of 178 to 217 million dollars, the art collection by Sydell Miller, which Sotheby’s was able to secure at auction on November 18th and 19th, is even more capital-rich, but less expensive at the top and more relaxed in dealing with guarantees . From housewife in Cleveland to royal resident in Palm Beach of a corporate empire that became a market leader with false eyelashes and products for hair salons: Like Mica Ertegun, Sydell Miller realized the American dream until she died in March at the age of 86.
Her collection exudes joy in beauty and a certain playfulness. Certainly, in Pablo Picasso’s ambiguous 1925 painting “La Statuaire,” estimated at $30 million, Sydell Miller may have seen less a statue or female model than a sculptress at work. As a collector, the entrepreneur was also enthusiastic about top works by Claude Monet, Wassily Kandinsky, Henry Moore and Yves Klein.
The third private collector to put his stamp on the auctions has an American family history that is reminiscent of the Hollywood classic “Giants”: As the “Wall Street Journal” reports, it is the Texas oil billionaire Sid Bass, born in 1942 on November 19th in the “20th Century Evening Sale” at Christie’s from his monumental gas station painting by Ed Ruscha from 1964. “Standard Station – Ten-Cent Western Being Torn In Half” opens with an estimate of 50 million dollars.
Surrealism of yesteryear for a surreal present
A total of 56 lots will be auctioned off in the evening auction on the 20th century, including Magritte’s enigmatic fear painting “Les chasseurs au bord de la nuit” (estimate eight to twelve million dollars) and for fans of “L’Empire de la lumiere” Series with somewhat more modest demands, a gouache of six to eight million. The evening event at Christie’s with 44 lots from the 21st century will be led by a drawing by Jean-Michel Basquiat, who died in 1988 – so much for time tracking at auction houses. But Basquiat apparently just seems too contemporary for the other section. His untitled crayon portrait is quite ambitiously valued at $20 to $30 million. The upper overall expectation for the two “evening sales” is 515 million.
Surrealism is also popular at Sotheby’s. A hundred years after André Breton published his manifesto, the art movement in which the seemingly familiar is transformed into something uncanny, like something out of a dream, seems to correspond to the attitude to life again. Even in our present, certainties disappear practically overnight. Surrealist artists will be making appearances at Sotheby’s in the “Modern Evening Auction” on November 18th: alongside Leonor Fini and Remedios Varo, Leonora Carrington will be represented with the statue “La Grande Dame” or “Cat Woman”; Five to seven million dollars are expected for the 1951 piece, which was secured with an irrevocable bid. At the top of the auction with 33 lots, which is expected to bring in up to 150 million dollars, is a nude portrait of Henri Matisse (12/18 million).
Better a tax that is too low than one that is too high
Sotheby’s avoids making a distinction between contemporary and ultra-contemporary art in “The Now and Contemporary Evening Auction” on November 20th. With 43 lots including Cattelan bananas, the company is targeting sales of up to $159 million. 6.25 million net can be deducted immediately: This is how much Sotheby’s will pay to settle a legal dispute with the state of New York that involved tax fraud by collectors. Finally, Phillips, the smallest of the major auction houses, has the 33 lots in Jackson Pollock’s “Modern & Contemporary Art Evening Sale” listed. His untitled drip painting from around 1948 is valued at $13 million.
Together, Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillips want to generate sales of around 1.2 billion dollars with around 1,500 lots – roughly a third less than last year. Trump’s election has boosted the US stock market, but auctioneers continue to calculate coolly with flexible strategies: a trend towards more attractive, lower preliminary estimates can be observed, here and there there is also a courageous rush to unexpected heights and in many cases hedging by guarantors.
Sydell Miller: I resonate with Mica’s thoughts on emotion, but for me, there’s also a strong element of context and significance. I like to understand the artist’s intent and the story behind the work. I believe that art should not only bring joy but also provoke thought and conversation. I often select pieces that embody a narrative or contribute to broader cultural dialogues, making the collection feel cohesive and meaningful.
Interviewer: Welcome to our interview about the upcoming fall auctions of modern and contemporary art in New York. We’re pleased to be joined today by two distinguished guests, Mica Ertegun and Sydell Miller. Thank you for taking the time to speak with us.
Mica Ertegun: Thank you for having me. I’m excited to share my collection with the world.
Sydell Miller: Absolutely! I’m thrilled to be part of this important event.
Interviewer: Let’s start with your backgrounds. Mica, you were born in Romania and modeled in Paris before founding a successful interior design company in New York. Sydell, you grew up in Cleveland and helped build a beauty empire through your business acumen. How has your unique upbringing and career experience shaped your approach to art collecting?
Mica Ertegun: Well, I’ve always had an eye for beauty, both in interior design and in art. My travels allowed me to experience different cultures and styles, which I think contributed to my appreciation for diverse art forms. With my husband’s support, I was able to explore the world of fine art collecting and develop a deep understanding of it. Initially, I started collecting art for personal appreciation, but over time, it became something more.
Sydell Miller: For me, art has always been a source of joy and inspiration. As a businesswoman, I understand the importance of investing in something you love. But beyond that, I feel like art can elevate any space or environment. It has the power to transform and bring people together. That’s why I focused my collection on pieces that not only pleased me aesthetically but also had that emotional impact.
Interviewer: Your collections are quite diverse, featuring works by well-known artists such as René Magritte, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, and more. Can you talk about your process for selecting pieces for your collection? What draws you to certain works over others?
Mica Ertegun: When selecting art, I look for three main things: quality, composition, and emotion. A piece must have craftsmanship and skill to be considered great art, but it also needs to resonate with me on an emotional level. I’m drawn to works that
