What 70 Years of Collecting Art Looks Like: Giacometti, Rothko & More in The Wingate Collection

Why It Matters

The sale underscores strong demand for integrated art‑design collections, influencing valuation trends and encouraging collectors to pursue interdisciplinary narratives.

Key Takeaways

• Wingate collection spans 70 years, showcasing modernist masterpieces
• Giacometti’s La Clairière anchors the collection’s sculptural focus
• Rothko’s 1959 Untitled exemplifies luminous, immersive abstraction painting
• Tiffany’s Wisteria lamp highlights design’s blend of art and craftsmanship
• Collectors’ curiosity drives evolving, interdisciplinary art appreciation across generations

Summary

The video showcases the David and Shoshana Wingate Collection, a seven‑decade private assemblage of modernist paintings, sculpture, and design now slated for Sotheby’s auction.\n\nKey works include Giacometti’s La Clairière, Rothko’s 1959 Untitled, Kandinsky’s Two Black Stripes, and Tiffany’s Wisteria lamp, illustrating the collection’s breadth from avant‑garde sculpture to luminous abstraction and decorative arts.\n\nCurators emphasize the collection’s philosophy: “The longer one looks, the more the painting reveals itself,” and recount how Edith Halpert introduced the Wingates to American modernism, shaping a lifelong curiosity.\n\nThe auction highlights robust market appetite for historically rich, interdisciplinary collections, reinforcing the value of cross‑genre narratives in contemporary collecting.

Original Description

Great art rarely gives itself away all at once. As the Wingate family discovered over seven decades, the most enduring works are those that ask more questions than they answer—revealing themselves slowly, through time, attention, and lived experience. From early encounters with American modernism to masterworks by Wassily Kandinsky, Mark Rothko, and Alberto Giacometti, this collection traces not just a history of art, but a way of seeing—one shaped by curiosity, patience, and a willingness to engage with the unknown.

At home in Old Westbury, paintings, sculpture, and design were placed in constant dialogue—Giacometti bronzes against forest light, luminous canvases beside Tiffany lamps—creating an environment where art was not displayed, but lived with. Sotheby’s is honored to present A New Vista: The David and Shoshanna Wingate Collection, a deeply personal collection shaped across generations.

This May, works from the collection will be offered in the Modern Evening Sale, presented by CELINE, 19 May in New York, as well as numerous other New York and London sales.

Learn more about the entire collection ►► https://www.sothebys.com/en/series/a-new-vista-the-david-and-shoshanna-wingate-collection

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