Bonhams New York presents Brancusi bronzes from the artist’s estate
A landmark auction bringing together five sculptures acquired directly from Constantin Brancusi's collection alongside Impressionist and contemporary masterworks.
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Bonhams New York presents an exceptional gathering of twentieth and twenty first century art across two days in November, anchored by a singular opportunity to acquire works of enduring significance. The auction calendar unfolds with Brancusi: The Legacy on 18 November, followed by the Evening Sale that same day, then concludes with dedicated Impressionist and Modern Art and Post War and Contemporary Art sessions on 19 November.
The Brancusi presentation commands particular attention. Five bronzes, each acquired directly from the artist’s estate and held within the same private collection for decades, come to auction for the first time. These sculptures reveal Constantin Brancusi’s sustained investigation into form and the figure: recurring motifs that preoccupied him throughout his working life, rendered in bronze with the austere elegance that defines his legacy. That such works remain so rarely encountered in public sale speaks to their provenance and the collectors’ commitment to their preservation.
An arc from Impressionism to now
The 20th and 21st Century Evening Sale on 18 November traces a luminous path across aesthetic territory. A late still life by Pierre Auguste Renoir anchors the session, capturing the Impressionist master’s continued mastery of colour and intimacy in his final years. This sits alongside an arresting portrait by George Condo, whose muscular figuration and psychological intensity define contemporary painting’s engagement with the human countenance. The range itself becomes part of the narrative, a chronological arc that demonstrates how modernist innovation and representational inquiry have evolved and sometimes converged.
The following day’s sessions extend this conversation further into the Post War and Contemporary territory, allowing collectors to survey the full spectrum of artistic inquiry from the nineteenth century onwards. Such breadth within a single auction calendar is uncommon; it permits those with catholic taste and serious collecting intentions to navigate multiple periods and mediums within a single visit to New York.
The sales run 18 and 19 November at Bonhams’ New York galleries. Full catalogues and condition reports are available through the auction house’s platforms, with previews preceding each sale.
Imagery courtesy of Bonhams (@bonhams1793).
