(Bloomberg) -- Works by Mark Rothko and Clyfford Still, from the collection of the late Mary and Harry “Hunk” Anderson, are among 26 works estimated at more than $55 million heading to auction.
Sotheby’s said it’s offering the pieces during its May sales in New York. Still’s “1947-Y-No.1” is the top lot, which may fetch $25 million to $35 million, according to the auction house.
It will be the second group from the couple’s collection to hit the auction block. Christie’s won about 200 pieces after Hunk Anderson, who made a fortune providing food to colleges and universities as the co-founder of Saga Corp., died in 2018. Sales of those works totaled $49.9 million. The latest batch became available after his widow’s death in October. The couple were prominent California philanthropists.
Sotheby’s will begin exhibiting the works Friday in New York. They include Rothko’s 1969 “Green, Blue, Green,” estimated at $7 million to $10 million, a 7-foot-wide abstract Henry Moore sculpture, and a 1959 painting, “View from the Porch,” by Richard Diebenkorn.
The Andersons were avid collectors. They became close with several artists including Frank Stella, Philip Guston and Sam Francis, as well as legendary art dealer Leo Castelli, according to Joshua Holdeman, who advises the family.
“It’s kind of all they did in their spare time,” said Holdeman, principal of the Hammond Group. “It’s amazing to see how active they were in acquiring objects.”
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