Over the course of the last century, a small number of individuals have played a vital role in shaping the unfolding story of 20th-century art. Emily Fisher Landau was a key member of this group: her deep and longstanding involvement with leading institutions; her profound engagement with the art of her time; and her unerring instinct as a collector at the highest level, all combining in one of the greatest patrons of ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s.

Emily Fisher Landau was deeply involved with leading institutions and the art of her time.

Emily Fisher Landau

Browse highlights by some of the most important artists of the 20th &amp; 21st centuries including Louise Nevelson, Jean Dubuffet, Richard Prince and Hiroshi Sugimoto.

Sale Highlights

From Nancy Dwyer’s mahogany desk construction asserting it’s bold presence in the shape of the word ‘ENVY’ to Steve Wolfe’s trompe l’oeil painted facsimile of J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, artwork featuring textual elements and literary devices represent important throughlines in Emily Fisher Landau’s collection. As such, throughout the 26-year-period in which Mrs. Fisher Landau generously opened up her collection to the public at the Fisher Landau Center for Art, numerous exhibitions were devoted to text-based work, including Counting the Ways: Word as Image (2005), Fighting Words - Voices of Dissent: Social, Political and Environmental Statements (2008), Literary Devices (2014-2015) and Language as Representation (2016-2017). The artworks included in these exhibitions, many of which are featured below and throughout the auction, illuminate the tensions between visual images and language as narration, wordplay, found object, signifier, and political commentary. By animating fragments of speech, these artists transform a fundamental communication tool into ironic or emblematic provocations stimulating viewers both visually and intellectually to question the malleability of meaning inherent to language.

Textual elements &amp; literary devices represent important throughlines in the collection.

Word As Image

Emily Fisher Landau’s collection boasts an exceptional group of portraits and figurative artworks. Portraits of Mrs. Fisher Landau by Michael Hurson and Robert Mapplethorpe illuminate the meaningful relationships she cultivated with the artists she supported and collected in depth, while a particular focus on photographic portraits of artists highlight her profound engagement with not only the art, but also the artists of her time.

Emily Fisher Landau’s collection boasts an exceptional group of portraits &amp; figurative artworks.

We Are the World

In homage to a 2006-2007 exhibition at The Emily Fisher Landau Center titled Zoo Story, the following artworks exemplify a variety of artistic examinations into the evolving relationship between humans and the natural world. From the feathers that lend a visceral quality to Rebecca Horn’s Bird Machine to the bronze that imparts a sense of monumentality to the struggle between natural creature and man-made machine in Tom Otterness’ Frog and Robot, the artworks with animal imagery span a diversity of media. A particular emphasis on animal portraits within the collection elevates the creatures to the status of artistic muse. Taken as a whole, the following artworks celebrate the astounding variety of life on Earth.

Explore an array of artistic examinations into the relationship between humans &amp; the natural world.

Zoo Story

From Kiki Smith’s unique pairing of a music box and bronze ear to the electrical components illuminating a construction by Cletus Johnson, discover a selection of artworks united by a use of unconventional media emphasizing physicality, texture and the inherent qualities of artistic materials. In the context of today’s digital age, encountering highly tactile artworks enlivens the senses and fosters sustained contemplation.

Discover artworks united by a use of unconventional media emphasizing physicality &amp; texture.

Material Matters

New York

Sotheby's New York is honored to present The Emily Fisher Landau Collection: An Era Defined, a thoughtful and nuanced collection of modern, post-war and contemporary art that reflects the vital role she played in shaping the story of 20th century art. The result of decades of inquiry and curiosity, the Emily Fisher Landau Collection is synonymous with connoisseurship and quality, and also speaks to Mrs. Fisher Landau’s voracious and instinctive approach to collecting. Building upon the momentum of the standalone Evening and Day sales during the November Marquee sale season in New York, The Emily Fisher Landau Collection returns to Sotheby’s with a dedicated online auction this December. Anchored by highlights including paintings by Francesco Clemente and Sherrie Levine, photographs by Richard Prince and Hiroshi Sugimoto, prints by Glenn Ligon and Jasper Johns and sculptures by Carl Andre and Tom Otterness, the sale collectively epitomizes Mrs. Fisher Landau’s profound engagement with the art and artists of her time and her unerring instinct as a collector at the highest level. Sale Number: N11372

AVP | Head of Modern and Contemporary Discoveries

Rachel C. Nelson

Associate Specialist, Contemporary Art

Keith Lebel

Cataloguer, Contemporary Art

Eva Farrell

Associate Cataloguer, Contemporary Art

Caroline Yarbrough

Associate Cataloguer, Modern & Contemporary Art

Helen Condo

Associate Cataloguer, Prints

Yasmeen Sabet

Cataloguer, Photographs

Matt Parciak

Associate Cataloguer, American Art

Caroline Elson

Pre-Sale Experience Coordinator, Contemporary Art

Montserrat Palacios

Meet our Specialists

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The Emily Fisher Landau Collection returns to Sotheby’s with a dedicated online auction this December. Anchored by highlights including paintings by Francesco Clemente and Sherrie Levine, photographs by Richard Prince and Hiroshi Sugimoto, prints by Glenn Ligon and Jasper Johns and sculptures by Carl Andre and Tom Otterness, the sale collectively epitomizes Mrs. Fisher Landau’s profound engagement with the art and artists of her time and her unerring instinct as a collector at the highest level.

The Emily Fisher Landau Collection: An Era Defined | Online Auction