Sotheby's - PROPERTY FROM THE ESTATE OF BROOKE ASTOR

PROPERTY FROM THE ESTATE OF BROOKE ASTOR

Sotheby’s New York, 24 & 25 September 2012

FEATURING FINE AND DECORATIVE ART FROM 

MRS. ASTOR’S NEW YORK RESIDENCES,

AS WELL AS JEWELRY FROM HER PERSONAL COLLECTION

Sotheby’s New York auction of Property from the Estate of Brooke Astor – beloved philanthropist and legendary figure in New York society – will be held on 24 & 25 September 2012. The sale will comprise fine and decorative art from Mrs. Astor’s Park Avenue apartment in New York City and her Westchester County estate, Holly Hill, as well as a selection of jewelry from her personal collection. The approximately 800 items in the sale will be on exhibition in Sotheby’s York Avenue galleries beginning 17 September.

In keeping with her unwavering commitment to numerous New York institutions and causes, Mrs. Astor selected a number of charitable organizations to benefit from her estate, including The New York Public Library, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Pierpont Morgan Library, The Animal Medical Center of New York, and New York City Schools, in addition to various charities in Maine.

Jewelry from the Personal Collection of Brooke Astor

“If I go up to Harlem or down to Sixth Street, and I’m not dressed up or I’m not wearing my jewelry, then the people feel I’m talking down to them. People expect to see Mrs. Astor, not some dowdy old lady, and I don’t intend to disappoint.”

– Brooke Astor

Assembled primarily in the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s, Mrs. Astor’s personal collection of jewelry evokes her role as a renowned New York social figure, with pieces appropriate for every occasion both day and night. 


In addition to examples by each of the best designers of the 20th century – including Van Cleef & Arpels, Verdura, Cartier, Buccellati, David Webb, Jean Schlumberger for Tiffany & Co., and Bulgari – the September auction will also feature a strong group of stones.  Highlights will include an Emerald and Diamond Ring set with a Colombian emerald weighing 22.84 carats (pictured right, est. $100/150,000), an Emerald and Diamond Necklace, circa 1965 (pictured right, est. $250/350,000), and the wonderful articulated 18 Karat Gold, Fancy Colored Diamond, Coral and Ruby Lion Brooch by Van Cleef & Arpels, New York (pictured above, est. $20/30,000).

About Sotheby's:

Sotheby’s has long recognised that great works of art, as well as the collectors interested in consigning and acquiring them, inhabit the global sphere. We were the first international auction house to expand from London to New York in 1955, and the first to conduct sales in Hong Kong and the then–Soviet Union. Today we maintain 90 locations in 40 countries and we conduct 250 auctions each year in over 70 categories. In addition to our four principal salerooms, the company, recognising the potential in new markets, also conducts auctions in six other salerooms around the world, further expanding our global reach. Through BidNow, clients can also watch all Sotheby’s auctions live online and place bids in real time, from anywhere in the world. And through the ever-enriching content on Sothebys.com, the oldest publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange (BID) continues to be fresh and current, while always mindful of its historic roots.