NEW YORK, NY.- Profiles in History, run by Joe Maddalena, announced today they will move forward with plans to exhibit highlights from their upcoming auction, The Property of a Distinguished American Private Collector in New York City. The exhibit will now take place at
Douglas Elliman's Madison Avenue Gallery, 980 Madison Avenue (between 76thand 77th Streets) from December 3rd - December 9th. There will be a special press preview Monday, December 3, 11 AM - 2 PM. The collection, which can only be compared to the collections of Philip D. Sang and Malcolm Forbes, will be open to the public for viewing from 11AM - 6PM daily. Profiles in History had originally planned to display this collection at Fraunces Tavern Museum, however, the museum suffered extensive damage from Hurricane Sandy and had to cancel.
Part 1 of The Property of a Distinguished American Private Collector will include 300 of the most important letters and manuscripts of the collection with total sale estimates in excess of $8,000,000. The entire collection has over 3,000 items and will be sold over the next two years. The first auction will be on December 18th.
A major highlight at Douglas Elliman's Madison Avenue Gallery will be an extraordinary handwritten letter by Vincent van Gogh. The great post-Impressionist painter writes to his dear friends, Monsieur and Madame Ginoux, of his failing mental and physical health with remarkable clarity and self-awareness. Less than seven months before his tragic death, van Gogh writes with great introspection: “Disease exists to remind us we are not made of wood ..." This letter is pictured above and is expected to fetch between $200,000 - $300,000.
Other important documents to be featured include: several George Washington manuscripts, including his letter on world peace; Charles Dickens writing on William Makepeace Thackeray; a Thomas Paine manuscript on a multitude of subjects; Martin Gay writing about his eyewitness account of the Battle of Bunker Hill; A very rare Emily Dickinson letter; John Lennon writing to Eric Clapton about forming a band; Paul Revere writing on war fears and frustrations; An entire archive of King George IIIhandwritten correspondence and letters by Marilyn Monroe, Sigmund Freud, Einstein,Carl Jung, Karl Marx, Charles Darwin, Thomas Edison, Babe Ruth and Joe DiMaggio.
