Sotheby’s to Present The New York Sales in May, Featuring Works by Rothko, Basquiat, Picasso and Matisse

The public exhibition at Sotheby’s New York is scheduled from 2 to 18 May 2026, with the evening auctions beginning on 14 May. The programme includes several dedicated sales, among them Robert Mnuchin: Collector at Heart, The Now & Contemporary Evening Auction and Modern Evening Auction.

One of the most anticipated highlights is Mark Rothko’s Brown and Blacks in Reds from 1957, offered as part of the Robert Mnuchin collection with an estimate of USD 70–100 million. The same sale will also include Rothko’s No. 1 from 1949, alongside works by Pablo Picasso, Willem de Kooning, Joan Miró, Franz Kline and Jeff Koons.

Contemporary art will be represented by, among others, Jean-Michel Basquiat, whose monumental Museum Security (Broadway Meltdown) from 1983 is among the leading works in The Now & Contemporary Evening Auction. According to Ocula, the painting is appearing at auction for the first time in more than a decade and carries an estimate of around USD 45 million.

Modern Evening Auction, taking place on 19 May 2026, will focus on modern art and feature works by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Vincent van Gogh, Auguste Rodin, Alberto Giacometti, Georgia O’Keeffe and Claude Monet. Notable lots include Picasso’s Arlequin (Buste) from the collection of Enrico Donati, Van Gogh’s La Moisson en Provence, estimated at USD 25–35 million, and Matisse’s La Séance du matin, estimated at USD 20–30 million.

Together, The New York Sales will offer a concentrated view of more than 150 years of artistic creation — from European modernism to defining figures of post-war and contemporary art. For collectors and art enthusiasts, the series is set to be one of the key highlights of the spring auction season.