The private collection of a self-made beauty mogul is expected to fetch $200 million in one of the year’s most exciting auctions.
Dubbed the ‘queen of the beauty industry’, American centimillionaire Sydell Miller, who died earlier this year aged 86, founded two leading brands alongside her husband, Arnold Miller, including salon product manufacturer Matrix Essentials, which was sold in 1994 for $400 million.
She used her fortune to invest in record-breaking real estate, including buying the most expensive condo ever in Palm Beach, Florida, for $40 million.
A celebrated philanthropist, Miller was also a keen collector of art. Some 90 works, including pieces by Picasso and Monet, will be auctioned by Sotheby’s New York this autumn.
The sales will be preceded by a series of curated exhibitions in London, Paris, Hong Kong, Taipei and Los Angeles.
‘Like Sydell Miller, the artists and designers in this collection defied the boundaries set before them, striving for beauty and transformation in their craft and leaving indelible marks on the history of art,’ says Sharon Kim, Sotheby’s vice president, impressionist and modern art.
‘Encompassing the pinnacle of Monet’s artistic achievements, Picasso’s triumphant paean to creativity – and beyond – this collection unites the titans of modern art history, each with their own contribution to beauty: one of art’s most profound, and enduring, gifts to the world.’
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Among the highlights is an enthralling example of Monet’s iconic Nymphéas and Picasso’s first depiction of a female artist. There is also an elegant Matisse portrait from wartime France and an extraordinary work by Yves Klein executed at the height of his career.
A further selection of works showcasing the full breadth of Miller’s collecting pursuits will be featured in three dedicated online sales.
The first online sale will celebrate Sydell Miller’s keen eye for fashion, followed by an auction celebrating the collection’s expansive range of ‘objets d’art’, and another featuring exquisite furniture, decorative art, and silver. Miller’s impeccable taste in jewellery will also be showcased in Sotheby’s sales of Magnificent Jewels and Fine Jewels in December as part of The Luxury Sales series.