Sotheby’s to hold potentially record-setting auction in April

The collection, comprising 123 items including furniture, sculptures, and 20th-century artworks, was assembled over four decades and adorned the couple’s Manhattan residence. The auction’s top lots include 15 mirrors designed by Claude Lalanne for Yves Saint Laurent, estimated at $10–15 million, as well as a 1969 work by Mark Rothko with a similar valuation.

Terry de Gunzburg, former creative director of Yves Saint Laurent Beauty and a well-known figure in the cosmetics industry, has a long history of collecting art—purchasing her first Pablo Picasso painting at the age of 20. Her husband, Jean de Gunzburg, a molecular biologist and member of a family historically linked to the Seagram spirits empire, helped shape a collection that blends French aesthetic sensibilities with contemporary design.

Among the designers represented are leading figures of French design, such as François-Xavier Lalanne, Jean Royère, and André Groult, while the fine art portion includes works by Paul Klee and Agnes Martin, with one of Martin’s pieces estimated between $3 and $4 million.

The auction will take place on April 22 at Sotheby’s new Breuer building in New York, with a preview starting on April 10. The house hopes to replicate the success of its December sale, when François-Xavier Lalanne’s hippopotamus-shaped bar sold for $31 million, setting a new record for a design work.

In a joint statement, the collectors described the collection as “a journey guided by instinct, curiosity, and the joy of living with works that moved us deeply,” emphasizing that over time it reflected their core values: freedom of thought, creativity, and discovery.