Prints and multiples from prestigious collections in auction at Sotheby's in New York

The Prints & Multiples auction will be on public display in the galleries of Sotheby's York Avenue starting October 16, ahead of the auction to be held from 24 to 26 October in New York.

THE BLEMA AND H. ARNOLD STEINBERG COLLECTION
Passionately assembled by Canadian collectors over decades from the mid-60s to 2014, the collection represents the vast sphere of artistic innovation that took place in the United States and Canada in the postwar decades, from abstract expressionism to hard edge and to the minimalist movements. The Prints & Multiples evening auction will open with two emblematic examples of Pop Art by Roy Lichtenstein: Reverie (Corlett 38) estimate $100/150.000;

and sweet dreams baby! (estimate $80/120.000).

Each work was published in one of 11 Pop Artists portfolios published by Original Editions, New York.

COLLECTION OF CATHERINE WOODARD AND NELSON BLITZ, JR.
Following Sotheby's auction of works from the Collection of Catherine Woodard and Nelson Blitz Jr. in October 2017, this auction features 11 works from the Collection, including an exceptional selection of prints by Edvard Munch, Emil Nolde, Jasper Johns and Chuck Close. The group is led by four flags of Jasper Johns, including one-of-a-kind examples of Flag I, Flag II, and Flag III (estimate $1,8/2,4 million). New to lithography in 1960, the artist created three variations of the flag that year, each stamped from one stone.

ANDY WARHOL FLOWERS

The upcoming auction is highlighted by Andy Warhol's Flowers (F. & S. II.64-73), a complete set of ten color screenprints from 1970 (estimate $1/1,5 million). A notable departure from the commercialism and celebrity imagery for which the artist was becoming known at the time, Warhol's flowers today are emblematic of his iconography. Exemplifying the artist's affinity for repetition, the Flowers were bold and accessible, representative of the Pop movement. Fifty years after the publication of the portfolio, Warhol's flowers hold a unique position in the canon of his early prints.

RICHARD DIEBENKORN'S MONUMENTAL GREEN

Considered an icon of postwar printing in America, Richard Diebenkorn's Green is truly something unique (estimate $400/600.000). Its monumental size – measuring 45cm in height – balanced composition, layers of abstraction and brilliant colors are all part of the label of the work being auctioned as the largest and most important print by the artist.

EXECUTIVE RYAN BRAN VIDEO GAME COLLECTION

From the collection of video game pioneer Ryan Brant who founded Take-Two Interactive, the company behind iconic franchises including Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead and NBA 2K. The Prints & Multiples auction offers a selection of 11 works by KAWS from the Brant collection, including famous subjects such as KAWSBOB and Companion. The group is led by a complete set of ten Blame Game prints (pictured right, estimate $80/120.000).

Finally a selection of linocuts by Pablo Picasso from the 50s, primarily a rare proof of the June portrait, d'apres Cranach le Jeune. II (B. 859; BA. 1053) (estimate $250/350.000). Picasso began to seriously explore linocuts in 1953-4, making different colored cut-outs on separate blocks, which he would then superimpose onto the same sheet of paper. On July 4, 1958, the artist created for the first time Portrait de jeune fille, d'apres Cranach le Jeune in five different blocks of linoleum: sepia, yellow, red, blue and black. He then printed several proofs, creating two states of color blocks and three of black to arrive at the final image. The proof is printed from the first state of the black block, which served as the keystone of the composition. The auction also features Portrait de Jacqueline au fauteuil (Ba. 1054), an early significant work by Picasso in the medium (estimate $150/250.000). After Picasso's move to the south of France in the late 50s, distance from Mourlot's lithographic press in Paris motivated the artist to explore linoleum cutting as a creative outlet. While the current portrait of his wife Jacqueline employs the traditional linocut process of stacking multiple blocks to achieve the final image, Picasso found it cumbersome and as a result, the work is among the last works he created using the process before developing the reduction method.