Winslow Homer, A Mountain Climber Resting (1869)
Collector/Connoisseur: The Max N. Berry Collection; American Art Evening Sale, Christie’s, New York, 22 January
Estimate: $1.5m to $2.5m
Winslow Homer, who began as a Civil War reporter artist, later became known for depicting the US’s growing culture of leisure as expanding transportation networks enabled more people to visit the country’s natural landmarks. A Mountain Climber Resting is a quintessential example, showing a mountaineer resting after an ascent and admiring the view. The composition closely resembles a drawing in the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. The painting was once owned by Millicent Rogers, the Standard Oil heiress and prominent art collector whose former Taos home is now the Millicent Rogers Museum. Its most recent owner, international trade lawyer Max Berry, has consigned this work as part of a broader group of 20th-century art, Judaica and Chinese works headed to Christie’s for sales that will continue during 2026.
Otobong Nkanga, The Pursuit of Bling: The Transformation (2014) Courtesy Sotheby’s
Otobong Nkanga, The Pursuit of Bling: The Transformation (2014)
Contemporary Discoveries, Sotheby’s, London, 23 January
Estimate: £20,000 to £30,000
The Nigerian-born artist Otobong Nkanga explores human consumption of Earth’s landscape. This tapestry follows the transformation of the mineral mica, mined worldwide, into products like cosmetics, paints and electronics. Another edition of The Pursuit of Bling: The Transformation is on display at the artist’s solo exhibition at the Musée d’Art Moderne in Paris. Nkanga made a strong auction debut last year, with a work from the same series selling for £75,600 (with fees) against a £20,000 to £30,000 estimate at Christie’s London in June.
Bob Ross, Valley View (1990) Courtesy Bonhams
Bob Ross, Valley View (1990)
Crafting a Nation: Art, History & Legacy, Bonhams Skinner, Skinner Marlborough, Massachusetts, 27 January
Estimate: $30,000 to $50,000
The market for Bob Ross, the beloved instructional painter, is red hot after two back-to-back record-breaking auctions for his work to benefit public television in the US amid government funding cuts to public programming. Valley View was the first painting Ross completed for the 21st volume of his Joy of Painting instructional book series. The work is totally fresh to market; once the painting was returned from the printer for scanning, it was stored with the Bob Ross Company until today. Proceeds will go towards American Public Television.
Claes Oldenburg, Three Way Plug (1965) Courtesy Heritage Auctions
Claes Oldenburg, Three Way Plug (1965)
Tools at Play: The Hechinger Collection Modern & Contemporary Art Showcase Auction, Heritage Auctions, Dallas, Texas, 28 January
Estimate: $3,000 and up
This lithograph of a three-way plug comes from Claes Oldenburg, the sculptor known for his larger-than-life versions of everyday objects like foods and domestic objects. His most famous work may be the massive badminton shuttlecock on the grounds of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri that he created with his wife and frequent collaborator, Coosje van Bruggen. This work comes from the Hechinger Collection, a group of tool-themed 20th-century art collected by the late hardware pioneer John Hechinger and his wife June Ross Hechinger.
