The bond of friendship between Salomón Lerner, Rosita Lerner, and Fernando Botero was marked not only by their positions as cultural titans - but also by a shared wit, warmth, and intellect.

Salomón & Rosita Lerner: A Tribute

La coleccionista offers profound testament to Fernando Botero’s engagement with and positioning within the artistic discourse of the modern Western world. Executed in 1974, this seminal painting presents a compelling narrative that intertwines and complicates the relationships between the artist, the artwork, the collector and us—the viewer. A playfully Boterian twist on the 17th-century kunstkammer (cabinet of curiosities), &nbsp;La coleccionista's central image is a fictive collection of some of the artist's most important works of the preceding years. As such, it is fundamentally a self-portrait. Scroll to learn more about each of the paintings the artist chose to include.

Learn more about Fernando Botero’s sly self-portrait.

La coleccionista 

A consummate example of the vibrational, painterly style characteristic of Botero's best work of the early 1970s, Florero is a triumph in the volumetric distortion and precise execution that defines Boterismo. Here, the Colombian master presents a distinctive approach to the time-tested genre of still life, merging the dimensionality and delicate beauty of the Dutch tradition with the overblown iconography of Pop Art.

Discover Fernando Botero’s monumental ode to vernal beauty.

Florero 

“You can take the same subject and create a totally different painting. That’s where real originality lies, in taking something that’s already been done by someone and doing it differently.” -Fernando Botero

Learn more about Fernando Botero's lifelong dialogue with the Western canon.

Jugando a las cartas 

New York

Sotheby’s is proud to present a dedicated auction of the Collection of Salomón &amp; Rosita Lerner. Here we are thrilled to celebrate the profound friendship between Salomón Lerner, the visionary founder of Librería Lerner, and the iconic artist Fernando Botero, and to pay homage to their contributions to global culture. Encompassing Botero’s most-celebrated themes, from bullfighting to domesticity to political satire, this Collection reveals both figures’ renowned intellects and humor.

Senior Vice President | Head of Latin American Art, Americas

Anna Di Stasi

Assistant Vice President | Specialist, Latin American Art

Emily Nice

SVP | Chairman, Latin America

Lulu de Creel

SVP, Business Development, Miami

Alejandra Rossetti

Senior Director | Director, Contemporary and Modern Art

Alexandra  Schader

Meet our Specialists

For assistance with bidding and registration, please contact: +1 212 606 7000 
 
 <a class="Link" href="mailto:enquiries@sothebys.com" target="_blank">ENQUIRIES@SOTHEBYS.COM</a>

Sotheby’s is proud to present a dedicated auction of the Collection of Salomón &amp; Rosita Lerner. Here we are thrilled to celebrate the profound friendship between Salomón Lerner, the visionary founder of Librería Lerner, and the iconic artist Fernando Botero, and to pay homage to their contributions to global culture. Encompassing Botero’s most-celebrated themes, from bullfighting to domesticity to political satire, this Collection reveals both figures’ renowned intellects and humor.

My Friend, Fernando Botero: The Salomón & Rosita Lerner Collection