A Rare Glimpse Into Surrealism’s Inner Circle: Inside the Donati Collection | Sotheby's

Why It Matters

The collection offers scholars an unprecedented, unfiltered view of surrealism’s inner circle, highlighting its pivotal role in shaping mid‑century American art and today’s conceptual practices.

Key Takeaways

• Donati joined New York surrealists after 1943 exhibition endorsement.
• Close ties with Duchamp produced iconic collaborative works like 'Prière de toucher.'
• Collection includes works by Picasso, Kandinsky, Calder, and non‑Western art.
• Surrealist gatherings in cafés seeded abstract expressionism and conceptual art.
• Donati’s home‑based collection offers rare, authentic glimpse into movement.

Summary

The video tours the Donati Collection, revealing how Enrico Donati, the last true surrealist, built a personal archive while living in New York during the 1940s, linking European exile artists with emerging American movements.

It highlights Donati’s 1943 exhibition that caught Breton’s attention, his daily lunches at Café La Reye with Breton, Duchamp, Tanguy, and his collaborations—most famously the 'Prière de toucher' breast‑cover project for the 1947 Paris catalog. The collection also showcases seminal works by Picasso, Kandinsky, Calder, and a trove of non‑Western objects that informed surrealist aesthetics.

Notable anecdotes include Duchamp’s request for 999 plaster breasts, Donati’s sourcing of false bosoms and hand‑drawn nipples, and Tanguy gifting Donati a lunar landscape. A 1909 Picasso Harlequin and a Kandinsky painting illustrate the movement’s dialogue with modern masters.

The assemblage demonstrates how intimate artist networks in wartime New York catalyzed abstract expressionism and conceptual art, making the Donati Collection a rare, in‑situ snapshot of surrealism’s core relationships and its lasting influence on contemporary culture.

Original Description

Step inside the extraordinary home collection of Enrico Donati, an artist whose life intersected with the most influential figures of 20th-century art. Built through friendships, collaborations, and creative exchange, this remarkable collection includes works connected to Marcel Duchamp, Pablo Picasso, Wassily Kandinsky, Yves Tanguy, and more.

From New York cafés where Surrealism evolved in exile during the 1940s to intimate gifts exchanged between artists, this sale offers a rare glimpse into how movements are shaped not only in museums, but in conversation, community, and private homes. At its center stands Picasso’s 1909 Harlequin, the jewel of a collection that reflects the living heartbeat of Surrealism itself.

This May, works from the collection of Adele Donati and Enrico Donati will be offered across Sotheby’s marquee sales in New York, including the Modern Evening Sale and Modern & Contemporary Day Sales, presented by CELINE, led by Arlequin (Buste) by Pablo Picasso.

Learn more about the Collection of Adele & Enrico Donati ►► https://www.sothebys.com/en/series/a-night-in-may-the-collection-of-adele-enrico-donati

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