This December, Sotheby’s will present Icons: Back to Madison, a first-of-its-kind exhibition bringing together some of the most iconic works ever sold under our banner—just one month after opening its new worldwide headquarters at the historic Breuer building. From 13 – 21 December, New York will welcome a remarkable gathering of masterpieces from both private and museum collections, many of which will be on public view for the first time in decades. Prior to its New York debut, Icons will be presented from 2 – 6 December as part of the inaugural Collectors’ Week in Abu Dhabi—a dynamic new program of exhibitions, auctions, and events celebrating the city’s emergence as a global hub for art and culture. The Abu Dhabi presentation will feature a carefully curated selection of highlights in dialogue with the New York exhibition. Some works will be showcased in both cities, while others will be exhibited exclusively in one location, offering visitors unique perspectives on this extraordinary assemblage of works presented by Etihad Airways.
The exhibition is a landmark “Back to Madison” moment, honoring Sotheby’s U.S. legacy: after acquiring the American auction house Parke-Bernet in 1964, Sotheby’s roots in New York were firmly established, just up the street from the Breuer at 980 Madison. This milestone is celebrated with a retrospective of extraordinary objects sold over decades, highlighting Sotheby’s role in shaping collecting history. Icons spans more than six decades of landmark sales, encompassing African and Oceanic, Jewelry, European modernism, postwar American art, and contemporary breakthroughs.
From record-setting canvases to pivotal works by John Singer Sargent, Joan Mitchell, Helen Frankenthaler, David Hockney, Barkley L. Hendricks, and others, the exhibition showcases paintings and objects that transformed artists’ careers, defined auction history, and shaped collecting for generations.
Highlights include Jean-Michel Basquiat’s explosive Untitled (1982), which set a record as the most expensive work by an American artist; Andy Warhol’s legendary Shot Orange Marilyn, immortalized by the dramatic act of violence that took place in his Factory and its landmark 1998 sale; Jasper Johns’ False Start, a groundbreaking canvas that redefined the relationship between language and perception; and Willem de Kooning’s Interchange, an indisputable masterpiece from his pivotal transitional period when he fractured composition and achieved his mature style of abstraction—all four of which are made possible by Kenneth C. Griffin. Further highlights include Banksy’s self-shredding Girl Without Balloon, the only artwork ever created in an auction room; the “Guennol Lioness,” a roughly 5,000-year-old Mesopotamian sculpture that remains the most valuable antiquity ever sold; the Lake Sentani Sculpture of a Female Ancestor, sold from the legendary collection of Helena Rubinstein in 1966; Clyfford Still’s 1949 canvas, whose sale helped establish the Clyfford Still Museum in Denver; and Francis Bacon’s Three Studies for Portrait of Lucian Freud, a quintessential and intimate portrayal of one of the most significant friendships in twentieth-century art—this painting, among other loans, made possible by YAGEO Foundation Collection, Taiwan.
In total, the exhibition comprises more than 25 works across both locations, with an estimated value approaching $2 billion, offering a once-in-a-generation opportunity to see these masterpieces together.
The exhibition is drawn from Sotheby’s forthcoming book with Phaidon, Icons: 100 Extraordinary Objects from Sotheby’s History, which traces the stories behind 100 of the most celebrated objects to have passed through Sotheby’s—from SUE, the 67-millionyear-old Tyrannosaurus rex, to Maurizio Cattelan’s infamous banana. The book illuminates how objects achieve iconic status, whether through exceptional quality, rarity, provenance, or remarkable stories—like a 1933 Double Eagle coin recovered after 60 years on the Most Wanted list, or a Giacomo Herman Roman Baroque cabinet rediscovered in a pizza parlor. Icons: 100 Extraordinary Objects from Sotheby’s History is available for pre-order now and goes on sale globally 7 January 2026. More information here. Many of the works in the book will be featured in the exhibition, offering an unparalleled opportunity to experience these historic objects firsthand. In bringing these works together, Sotheby’s transforms the Breuer into more than an auction house—it becomes a living testament to the enduring power of art, collectors, and culture, and a celebration of what it truly means to be iconic.
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Andy Warhol Shot Orange Marilyn, 1964 Synthetic polymer and silkscreen ink on canvas, 40 × 40 in. (101.6 × 101.6 cm) Sotheby’s New York, May 14, 1998, lot 16 Estimate $4,000,000–6,000,000
Sold for $17,327,500 Andy Warhol’s Shot Orange Marilyn (1964), famously marked by a bullet hole from an unapproved piece of performance art at the Factory, sold for $17.3 million at Sotheby’s in 1998, more than quadrupling the artist’s previous record and becoming one of the highest-priced contemporary paintings of its time. The work transforms Marilyn Monroe into a luminous, reproduced icon, capturing both celebrity and the mass-media culture that defines her image. Its sale helped solidify Warhol’s market dominance, cementing the Marilyn series as a defining motif of Pop art and a symbol of the artist’s enduring cultural impact. To be exhibited in New York Made possible by Kenneth C. Griffin
Piet Mondrian Composition No. II, 1930 Oil on canvas, 20⅛ × 20⅛ in. (51 × 51 cm) Sotheby’s New York, November 14, 2022, lot 105 Sold for $51,000,000
A landmark of Piet Mondrian’s radical vision, Composition No. II stands as a rare masterpiece from the artist’s pivotal 1929–31 series—one of only three works to feature the commanding red square at upper right and the sole example remaining in private hands. Revered for its exquisite balance, chromatic precision, and impeccable provenance, the painting reasserted its art-historical significance when it achieved $51 million at Sotheby’s, reclaiming Mondrian’s all-time auction record. It remains a defining emblem of modern abstraction and of the artist’s enduring cultural influence. To be exhibited in Abu Dhabi and New York Made possible by YAGEO Foundation Collection, Taiwan
Clyfford Still 1949-A-No. 1, 1949 Oil on canvas, 93 × 79 in. (236.2 × 200.7 cm) Sotheby’s New York, November 9, 2011, lot 11 Estimate $25,000,000–35,000,000 Sold for $61,682,500 Clyfford Still’s 1949-A-No. 1 shattered the artist’s previous auction record when it sold for $61.7 million in 2011, nearly tripling his previous benchmark. Towering over eight feet, the painting exemplifies Still’s masterful use of color and texture, creating a profound emotional impact through pure abstraction. The sale not only highlighted the work’s significance within his oeuvre but also helped fund the Clyfford Still Museum, ensuring public access to the majority of his life’s work. To be exhibited in New York
Jean-Michel Basquiat Untitled, 1982 Acrylic, spray paint, and oil stick on canvas, 72 ⅛ × 68 ⅛ in. (183.2 × 173 cm) Sotheby’s New York, May 18, 2017, lot 24 Sold for $110,487,500 Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Untitled (1982) is a monumental, visceral work that announced his arrival on the New York art scene, fusing graphic imagery, text, and raw gesture into a powerful visual language. When it sold at Sotheby’s in 2017 for $110.5 million, it set a new record for the artist and for any American painting, nearly doubling his previous auction record. The work remains a defining masterpiece of Basquiat’s early oeuvre, celebrated for its intensity, immediacy, and enduring cultural impact. To be exhibited in New York Made possible by Kenneth C. Griffin.
Willem de Kooning Interchange, 1955 Oil on canvas, 79 by 69 in. (200.7 by 175.3 cm.), Sotheby’s November 8, 1989, lot 16 Estimate $4,000,000–6,000,000 Sold for $20,680,000 Willem de Kooning’s Interchange (1955) achieved near-mythic status when it sold for $20.7 million at Sotheby’s in 1989, shattering the artist’s previous record and becoming the most expensive contemporary artwork at the time. The painting marks a pivotal transition in de Kooning’s practice, blending his late figuration with emerging abstraction in a series now held largely by major institutions. To be exhibited in New York Made possible by Kenneth C. Griffin
Jasper Johns False Start, 1959 Oil on canvas, 67 ½ × 53 in. (171.5 × 134.7 cm) Sotheby’s New York, November 11, 1988, lot 34 Estimate $4,000,000–5,000,000 Sold for $17,050,000 Jasper Johns’s False Start (1958) achieved $17.05 million at Sotheby’s in 1988, setting a new record for the artist and becoming the second-highest price ever paid at auction in the U.S. at the time. The painting, with its ironic, dissonant use of color, words and abstract fields, marks a pivotal moment in Johns’s career, challenging perception and redefining the possibilities of American painting. Its record-setting sale underscored the international significance of the New York School and remains a landmark in the history of American art. To be exhibited in New York Made possible by Kenneth C. Griffin
BanksyGirl Without Balloon, 2018Spray paint and acrylic on canvas, remote-controlled shredding,in artist’s frame, 60 × 30 ⅞ × 7 in. (142 × 78 × 18 cm)Sotheby’s London, October 14, 2021, lot 7 Estimate £4,000,000–6,000,000 ($5,474,203–8,211,304) Sold for £18,582,000 ($25,430,410) Banksy’s work famously self-shredded during its 2018 Sotheby’s auction, thanks to a hidden mechanism in its frame, leaving the canvas half-destroyed and instantly transforming it into a live performance. The stunt critiqued the relationship between art and monetary value while creating a global media sensation. In 2021, it sold again for a record-breaking £18.5 million, cementing its status as a singular conceptual masterpiece. To be exhibited in Abu Dhabi and New York
