A carefully assembled collection of Minimalist masterpieces will star in Christie’s marquee Spring auctions in New York.
Assembled by the late Henry S. McNeil Jr., a Philadelphia-based connoisseur, the trove includes rare and often monumental works by the likes of Carl Andre, Dan Flavin, Donald Judd, and numerous sculptures and drawings by Sol LeWitt that are sure to spark buyer interest at the upcoming auction season.
McNeil lived for years with the collection in the stunning five-story townhouse he owned in the city’s Rittenhouse Square neighborhood. He shared it with two of his children, Cole and Calder, who are now in their mid-20s and live in New York City.
“It’s fascinating to work with Gen-Z for the first time on a collection,” said William Featherby, junior specialist in Christie’s postwar and contemporary art department, about working with the McNeil children. “Normally, these are the the people buying.”
Featherby was speaking during a viewing of the collection at the McNeil home. Such small group tours of the artworks were a staple throughout the collector’s lifetime, and my own visit offered a rare peek into how the works have been in situ for decades, ahead of their dispersal at auction.
Installation view of the Henry McNeill collection. L to R: Artwork by Carl Andre (floor); Dan Flavin; and Donald Judd. Photo by Max Touhey.
Living With Minimalism
While Minimalism can sometimes “be misconstrued as unnecessarily academic,” said Featherby, for the McNeil children, “they were just the objects they grew up with and they’ve been able to imbue them with this incredible sense of warmth and memory.”
From unexpected neon-white Flavins and a Fred Sandback orange thread in the sunlit wooden staircase, to an astoundingly yellow neon Flavin in the master bedroom, surprises abound throughout the house.
“There are all these great moments where you get a mini retrospective of how the collection developed over the years,” said Featherby.
And in addition to the smaller details, the depth of holdings by Judd and LeWitt are remarkable. The house has a series of 14 LeWitt drawings that get more colorful and complex with each floor. The artworks will be spread over several sales but the majority, which will be offered in May, are expected to realize roughly $30 million.
Installation view of a Dan Flavin artwork in the stairwell of the McNeil house in Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia. Photo by Max Touhey.
In a conversation with the McNeil children, Cole told me that growing up, he had “so many experiences with the installation of the LeWitt drawings.” When the artist’s biography came out, he learned how the artist’s practice was based on progressions. Looking at his home, then, “we’ve got the ones made of graphite and a wall drawing #980 and then you get colors… you go all the way upstairs and you get the multicolor paintings. You actually get to see his career arc in front of your eyes everyday.”
I asked if they were involved in their father’s acquisition decisions over the years. “As we got older, around college age, he would sometimes run things by us to see what we thought,” said Calder. This included sending them to check out potential auction acquisitions in Manhattan if he was unable to make a in-person trip. “He acquired a lot of the major works when we were fairly young, so we had the exciting process of seeing a work installed in the house,” said Calder.
Bringing the Collection to Auction
A highlight of the collection is Judd’s copper and red fluorescent Plexiglas stack in 10 parts. Untitled (1969) is estimated at $10 million to $15 million, one of the highest-ever estimates placed on a Judd at auction. According to the Artnet Price Database, the record for a Judd at auction is $14 million paid at Christie’s New York in 2013 for Untitled (DSS 42) (1963), a red and black oil on wood with galvanized iron and aluminum.
Installation view of the Henry McNeil collection. L to R: Artwork by Richard Tuttle; Sol LeWitt, Carl Andre; and Donald Judd. Photo by Max Touhey.
The second highest price on record is $10 million paid in 2012, also at Christie’s New York for a stack somewhat similar to the McNeil work, this one labeled Untitled (Bernstein) and dating from 1989, comprised of copper and red plexiglas though in different formation. Currently, it appears to be in the collection of the Crystal Bridges Museum of Art, in Bentonville, Arkansas.
Featherby pointed out that there are 44 Judd stacks in the catalogue raisonne. Of the 29 from the 1960s, roughly half of those are in museums. “We want to put that signal out there: it is the most important Judd to ever come up for auction,” he emphasized.
McNeil was born in Pennsylvania in 1943, and became a prolific collector and philanthropist who developed personal relationships with many of the artists he championed, such as LeWitt. In the early 1990s, McNeil acquired 600 square acres of land on the border of the New Jersey and Pennsylvania and transformed it into Winslow Farms Conservancy. The project combined his varied interests in design, art, environmentalism, and architecture, while providing him space to train his many Labrador Retrievers for competitions. He died in July 2025.
Installation view of Sol LeWitt, Wall Drawing #980 (first drawn July 2001). Photo by Max Touhey
I asked Cole and Calder—who are keeping a few pieces for themselves including some LeWitt drawings—if they collect or plan to. They both gave an enthusiastic “yes,” notwithstanding the limitations of New York City apartments.
“We’re really lucky to live around the collection. He had a brilliant eye,” said Cole. He acknowledged the support his father received from friends and advisors, but added: “He’s at the heart of it. The depth of his collection shows how much he truly loved and respected the artists.”