A small group of high-value works from the collection of entrepreneur and philanthropist Jennifer Gilbert will go to auction at Sotheby’s this spring, with proceeds directed toward Lumana, a Detroit-based arts nonprofit she is developing.
The works will be split across Sotheby’s May contemporary sales and its June design auction. The top lots include Joan Mitchell’s Loom II (1976), estimated at $5 million to $7 million, and Kenneth Noland’s Circle (1958), carrying a $4 million to $6 million estimate—an ambitious figure that, if achieved, would set a new high-water mark for the artist.
Other works by George Rickey and Harry Bertoia round out the group, which leans heavily on midcentury abstraction and design—material that remains dependable, if not especially speculative, in the current market.
The sale arrives at a moment when collectors and institutions alike are leaning on established names, even as broader demand has softened outside the top tier. With that in mind the sale is well thought out: a handful of recognizable works, positioned to perform, tied to a honorable outcome.
Proceeds will go toward Lumana, which Gilbert is building in Stanton Yards, in Detroit’s Little Village neighborhood. The space is intended as a hub for artists and designers, with early programming set to involve Cranbrook Art Museum.
“Detroit is a very special city, with a rich and well-preserved history of art and design alongside a vibrant contemporary art scene, and is even recognized as the first UNESCO City of Design in the US,” Gilbert told ARTnews in an email, adding that the sale will help fund both programming and a permanent space for the foundation.
Sotheby’s has framed the group as a survey of postwar American innovation, pointing to connections between painting, sculpture, and design. That’s true as far as it goes. But the more immediate logic is simpler: these are the kinds of works that still sell.
The collection will be on view in Sotheby’s New York galleries ahead of the May auctions.
