An exceptional sale at Sotheby’s

3/11/25 - Art market - Paris - Announced for several months, the sale of the remnants of the collection assembled by Manny and Brigitta Davidson is the event of the week for Sotheby’s, which is orchestrating this dispersion in Paris, with two days of on-site sale complemented by an online sale. Quite impressive, the collection of paintings, sculptures, furniture, and art objects easily fills three levels of Sotheby’s sad new Parisian headquarters, where visitors are greeted by two of the “pièces de résistance”: a spectacular bronze recently attributed to Ludovico Lombardo, after having passed through the hands of sculptor François Girardon and then [1] the great couturier Hubert de Givenchy (ill. 1) and the very recognizable effigy of Joshua Reynolds (ill. 2), in what the auction house presents as a preparatory study for his very famous self-portrait in doctor’s robes, executed in 1780 for the Royal Academy [2]. Both the bronze (ill. 1) and the painting (ill. 2) could make many museums proud.

In the cupboard-tabernacle occupying the back of the space, Sotheby’s has hung two other fascinating paintings (ill. 3 and 4), acquired respectively in 1995 and 2015, this voracious collector having purchased relentlessly over several decades. The timeless effigy of the young man painted by Sweerts is sure to please many connoisseurs despite its very solid estimate (it is the highlight of the sale), while some institutions can already be imagined lying in wait for the superb portrait of a…