Sotheby's is preparing a major auction series beginning in October, built around an unnamed collector's holdings of more than 900 works. The collection, titled "Magnum Opus", is estimated at over $60 million and ranges from antiquity to the 20th century, bringing together fine art, design, books, manuscripts, jewelry, prints, photographs, and more.
The New York sales, scheduled for October 21-23, will feature about 600 lots, while additional works will appear across Sotheby's programs in New York and Paris through 2027. The selection reflects a broad collecting vision, with names such as Canaletto, Edgar Degas, Max Ernst, Francesco Guardi, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Luis Meléndez, Pablo Picasso, and Jacob van Ruisdael represented in the group.
Among the leading highlights is a marble torso of a Roman emperor from the Julio-Claudian period, estimated at $8 million to $12 million. Another standout is an Augustan marble portrait head of a girl, expected to reach $2.5 million to $3.5 million. The sale also includes a Canaletto view of Venice, a Degas pastel, a Meléndez still life, a Ruisdael landscape, a Picasso work, a Guardi painting, and an Ernst composition.
The design section adds another dimension to the offering, with historic carpets, Ottoman ceramics, and refined furniture among the featured objects. Sotheby's will preview parts of the collection in London and New York before the full presentation at its Madison Avenue headquarters in October.
This sale shows how major collections can connect ancient craftsmanship with modern collecting culture, shaping new conversations about value, taste, and cultural memory. Its influence may help define how future audiences experience art across eras.