Arts Philanthropist Anne Bass’ $250 Million Collection Of Paintings And Statues Heads To Auction

Topline

A dozen artworks that belonged to the late Anne Hendricks Bass – a respected New York arts patron and former wife of Texas oil billionaire Sid Bass – will go up for auction in May at Christie’s, which expects them to fetch a nine-figure sum.

Bass' two paintings by Mark Rothko, expected to fetch as much as $145 million combined, as displayed in her Fifth Avenue apartment in New York. Courtesy Christie's

Key Facts

Christie’s said the pieces, which were housed in Bass’ Fifth Avenue apartment, make up one of the “most important American collections” to hit the market in decades – and with a sales estimate in excess of $250 million, also one of the most expensive.

Bass was perhaps known best for her contributions to American ballet, and her passion for dance was reflected in her collection that includes an original bronze cast of Impressionist artist Edgar Degas’ best-known sculpture, “La Petite Danseuse de quatorze ans,” or “Little 14-Year-Old Dancer,” that is expected to fetch as much as $30 million.

Also up for sale is a Degas pastel drawing hung by Bass in her bedroom called “Danseuse attachant son chausson” that shows a dancer tying her ballet slipper that could bring in as much as $6 million, along with an oil, “Femme en peignoir bleu le torse découvert,” which is valued at as much as $1.8 million.

Bass’ collection also includes three paintings by Claude Monet, each a different scene: “Peupliers au bord de l’Epte” shows trees along the water in the French countryside, London’s Houses of Parliament are depicted “Le Parlement, soleil couchant,” and one painting of Monet’s famous water lilies on the artist’s own estate in Giverny, France, part of his “Nymphéas” series.

Also up for auction are two of Bass’ paintings by artist Mark Rothko, “Untitled (Shades of Red)” and “No. 1,” which both feature fiery shades of red and orange and were created in the early 1960s at the height of Rothko’s career, which could bring in as much as $145 million collectively, according to Christie’s.

The sale will also include two paintings of women standing beside a window that Bass hung in the entryway of her apartment opposite each other –  Balthus’s “Jeune fille à la fenêtre” and Vilhelm Hammershøi’s “Stue (Interior with an Oval Mirror),” with maximum sales estimates of $6 million and $2.5 million, respectively.

Bass attends Tiffany's 150th Anniversary Gala on September 14, 1987 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

Tangent

Bass’ collection is going up for auction as the art market rebounds from the 2020 coronavirus-fueled recession. Art sales rose 29% last year to $65.1 billion, according to an annual report from Art Basel and UBS released this week, surpassing the $64.1 billion in sales recorded in 2019. The $250 million Bass collection will go to auction as part of Christie’s 20th Century Evening Sale in May, head-to-head with rival Sotheby’s auction of the second half of the Macklowe collection, which is expected to fetch around $200 million and make the divorce trove the most expensive art collection ever sold at auction.

Bass, a prolific supporter of ballet, displayed this Edgar Degas pastel drawing in her bedroom. Courtesy Christie's

Ballet dancer Heather Watts and Bass attend American Ballet Theater 50th Anniversary Benefit on January 14, 1990 at Lincoln Center in New York City. Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

Big Number

$3.4 billion. That’s how much Bass’ former husband, Sid, is worth, according to Forbes’ real-time wealth tracker. Much of the art going up for auction in May was purchased during their 22-year marriage.

This original bronze cast of Degas' “Little 14-Year-Old Dancer” is expected to fetch as much as $30 million at auction in May. Courtesy Christie's

Key Background

Bass died of ovarian cancer last year at age 78. She married her college sweetheart and Texas oil heir Sid Bass in 1965 after first meeting as children. When the two separated in a highly publicized 1988 divorce, she walked away with a settlement believed to be between $200 and $500 million, reportedly the largest in Texas history at the time. Bass also kept the couple’s apartment on Fifth Avenue in New York, where she housed the art pieces up for auction in May. Bass was a fixture of New York philanthropy, and was particularly involved in supporting the New York City Ballet and its dance school, where she served on the board for 25 years. She helped raise money for the New York Public Library, Museum of Modern Art, New York Botanical Garden, and New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, along with cultural institutions in Fort Worth, Texas.

Bass and her longtime partner, artist Julian Lethbridge, at an after party for the 2006 Costume Institute Gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. WireImage

Further Reading

Anne Bass, 78, Arts Patron and Peerless Gardener, Dies (New York Times)

The Empress of Fort Worth (Texas Monthly)

Art Market Surpassed Pre-Pandemic Levels In 2021 With $65 Billion In Sales, Report Says (Forbes)

Macklowe Divorce Art Trove: See The Highlights From The Collection’s Second Auction (Forbes)

A $55 Million Picasso Painting Could Signal The Art Market Is Bouncing Back (Forbes)