Agnes Gund’s Collection to Feature at Christie’s Marquee May Auction

Agnes Gund’s passing in September 2025 marked not only a tragic loss to art but also the end of an era defined by her unique supporting productions. A tireless advocate for arts and culture, Gund was one of the most influential US patrons of the last century (earning a spot on the Observer’s 2023 Art Power Index). As the outgoing president of the Museum of Modern Art, where he served for more than 11 years, he played a transformative role in expanding the museum’s reach and collection, directly helping to raise the funds that made its recent expansion possible.

In his tireless collection, Gund amassed an incredible number of works of art. Had he chosen to keep them, they would have been worth “billions,” possibly surpassing the $1.6 billion Microsoft estate owned by Microsoft founder Paul Allen, which Christie’s is selling in 2022—the most expensive property ever sold. Instead, Gund donated 1,500 works to museums and sold others to fund causes such as criminal justice reform and reproductive rights.

Now, Christie’s is about to sell three museum-quality works of art, some of his favorites that stayed close to him until his last days. After hanging in his apartment for years, overlooking his favorite white sofa, the books will be sold as part of Christie’s Sunday May Marquee in New York, with a combined expected price of $145 million.

The top spot is a monumental Rothko canvas No. 15 (Two Greens and a Red Stripe)a rare example from his later period, where he uses cold greens, blacks, and deep indigo with a distinct red line. This work, painted six years after Rothko switched to dark, tonal tones, is one of the largest from this period in private hands. It has a remarkable history: purchased directly from Rothko by Gund in 1967 during a visit to his studio, it is one of only seven paintings acquired directly from the artist living with its original buyer. With an estimated $80 million, it could surpass the previous record of $86.88 million set by Orange, Red, Yellow (1961) at Christie’s in 2012. In the mental and emotional density of its atmospheric presence, the canvas evokes the deep emotional depth of Rothko’s work: the changing, limitless horizon of the forest or the Nordic seashore torn by this bright red contrast, in the getimacy of the two color connections.

The second highest priced spot belongs to Cy Twombly It has no title (1961), an exemplary piece from his Roman period, known for making a clear, graffiti-like mark, where the artist’s spontaneous and dynamic language reached new heights during this transitional phase, inspired by the myths and power found in the city. This work, with its unbridled emotional swings and vivid bursts of color, shows all the urgency and rawness of self-expression—a reflection of Twombly’s desire to reach the subconscious through the tangible presence of our corporeal reality.

Joseph Cornell’s third gem Untitled (Medici Princess) (1948), part of his famous Medici series. The box, which contains a portrait of a Medici princess, is an excellent example of Cornell’s ability to combine surrealism, abstraction, and personal history into a mystical synthesis that is accompanied by collective consciousness. The work showcases Cornell’s ability to poetically weave diverse material into a fantastical world where the dots are unexpectedly connected and a universal sense of time, collective history, and personal memory—an invitation to tap into the tangible expression of our shared unconscious. Estimated at $3-5 million, it is expected to surpass the previous high of $2.1 million achieved at Christie’s in 2014.

Although this is not the first time Gund’s collection has been put on the market, he has always used art sales to fund causes he believed in. In 2017, she sold her art lover Roy Lichtenstein to hedge fund investor Steven Cohen for $165 million, using the proceeds to launch Art for Justice, a six-year initiative targeting racial inequality. The fund distributed more than $127 million in grants before sunset in 2023. “Agnes isn’t done yet,” Helena Huang, Art for Justice project director, told the Observer at the time, noting Gund’s growing focus on reproductive rights.

In November 2023, Gund sold another Lichtenstein, directing more than $2 million to the Groundswell Fund, which fights for reproductive rights. “You could say there’s very little art to sell,” Huang said when asked if Gund would sell more works for charity. “But he will continue to use everything he has.”

As reported by the New York Times, Christie’s secured Gund’s estate with a financial guarantee, agreeing to pay a small amount of the collection in advance, and all proceeds from the auction will be used to cover costs related to the estate. These high-end properties, along with others expected to be announced, promise to drive market confidence—at least in the secondary market—continuing the momentum seen after the $527.5 million sale of the Lauder Collection in November.