In May, Sotheby’s New York will hold an auction to collect a series of ancient master paintings, assembled by Jordan and Thomas Sanders III for decades. It is estimated to be between $80 million and $120 million, and the deal could be a new benchmark under the Old Masters auction tree.
The series consists of 60 paintings spanning the early 19th century, including works from all over Europe, from works from the German Renaissance to Dutch, Flanders, Italian, Spanish and French masterpieces. Highlights include the outstanding still life by Jan Davidsz. de Heem and Luis Meléndez, Portraits of Sir Thomas Lawrence and Sir Frans Hals, and the landscape of Francesco Guardi.
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Saunders began collecting old masterpieces in the late 1990s, directed by George Wachter, chairman of Sotheby’s and head of old master painting. Wackert told Artnewsoften flying around the world for photos and often changing travel plans to seize short-term opportunities. Part of the series has been exhibited at top institutions such as the Chicago Academy of Art, the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Royal College, and Prado in Madrid.
The works in the Saunders series are packed with stories like many old people. In one example, the couple trekked in a Canadian snowstorm to shop for the famous Hornstein series. They agreed within minutes of seeing a series of paintings to buy six works: Hornstein sold their wonderful still life, sold by Luis Egidio Meléndez, and at first, they didn’t even show them. That photo, Still life with cauliflower, fish, eggs and leeks and kitchen utensils The sale will be available between $5 million and $8 million and will provide consistency for the artist’s records at the auction.
Another painting that made the record was Davidsz’s still life. de Heem. When Wachter and Saunders took the last minute to Rome to see the painting, their owner brought the work into a room wrapped in garbage bags because he didn’t want his wife to know that he was selling it.
In addition to their collection pursuits, Sanders was an active philanthropist supporting numerous arts, educational and cultural institutions. Their contribution was awarded the National Humanities Medal in 2008 by President George W. Bush. Jordan Saunders, who serves on the boards of several organizations, including the Ocean Corps University Foundation and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, has been here since 2023.
The auction comes after Sotheby’s 2024 sale Elegance and Miracle: Jordan Saunders Seriescelebrates the interior designed by Jordan Saunders to showcase their old Masters collection.
Old Masters are an often overlooked part of the art market. despite this, ArtnewsGeorge Nelson reported in December that the industry has increased in popularity in recent years, with traditionally buying modern and contemporary works to expand their collections and take advantage of lower prices. Ottilie Windsor and Alex Branczik from Sotheby’s Contemporary division are actively accepting phone bids from Botticelli, while Thomas Boyd-Bowman from Modern division, from Modern division, visited Rubens and Rosso.
According to Sotheby’s, 63 unique bidders have bid, buy or sell in a contemporary or modern sale since 2020.
