Sotheby’s has been consigned to sell more than 40 works by Roy Lichtenstein from the private collection of the artist’s family, with a total estimate of more than $35 million, as part of its upcoming auctions in May.
The pieces by the American pop artist span four decades and several mediums. The paintings, drawings, sculptures, and prints include Lichtenstein’s interpretations of modernism, surrealism, as well as Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet and Alexander Calder.
The top lots are the painting Reflections: Art (1988) with an estimate of $4 million to $6 million, the wood sculpture Woman: Sunlight, Moonlight (1996) also with an estimate of $4 million to $6 million, and the painting Stretcher Frame with Cross Bars III (1968) with an estimate of $2.5 million to $3.5 million.
Related Articles
Notably, the consignment includes an edition of Lichtenstein’s 1993 painted pewter and patinated bronze sculpture Bonsai tree, only its second appearance at auction, according to Artnet‘s price database. On November 18, 1997, Christie’s sold the fifth edition (out of six) for $266,500, on a high estimate of $180,000.
“It’s a very exciting thing to be able to bring that sculpture to auction for the first time, and in that long, and I think it’s just a phenomenal work,” Sotheby’s Vice Chairman and Head of Contemporary Art David Galperin told ARTnews.
The larger consignment from the Collection of Dorothy and Roy Lichtenstein follows the successful sale of 11 works by Lichtenstein at Sotheby’s in November, with 10 of those lots selling above their high estimates, and total sales of nearly $25 million including fees, on a collective high estimate of $15 million.
“That was simply a testament to what we already know to be an incredible amount of enthusiasm and interest in his work globally,” Galperin told ARTnews.
Only 1995’s Nude with Bust (Study) did not exceed its high estimate, but it sold for the highest amount at $4.56 million. Nude with Yellow Pillow and Roommates, both prints from 1994 and auctioned in day sales, sold for $1.2 million each, more than triple their high estimates of $350,000. Small House, a painted aluminum sculpture from 1997, was the only work with a house guarantee and irrevocable bids. It sold for $1.14 million on a high estimate of $800,000.
When asked if selling 40+ works by Lichtenstein next month would risk flooding the artist’s market, Galperin said the decision was driven by the strong results and other auction data indicating “an incredible amount of enthusiasm” from November.
“It was clear to us that—while we successfully found buyers at great prices, for great work—there was a lot of unmet demand. There were a lot of underbidders, there was a lot of energy. There were a lot of people who came away unsatisfied. And so to be able to bring to to market an expanded and very different group that provides a different perspective on Roy Lichtenstein’s incredibly prodigious career, it is, in many ways, a response to the incredible amount of interest that was generated in the fall.”
While Lichtenstein is an American pop artist, Galperin said auction bidding for his works at the November sales came from North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East. “Liechtenstein has become an artist whose work really carries universal renown and appeal, like Picasso, like Warhol, like Alexander Calder, like these artists who are perhaps the most the real stable of the art market.”
“I think the elements of joy, humor and beauty really resonate globally, and that’s something that we saw really at play in the fall.”
The Pop artist will also be the subject of a major retrospective at the Whitney Museum in 2026.
Highlights from the collection of works by Lichtenstein will travel to Hong Kong from April 18 to 23 before returning to New York for pre-sale exhibition at Sotheby’s and then going on the block at the house’s Contemporary Evening and Day sales next month.