LOS ANGELES, CA.- Its Nov. 30 Modern & Contemporary Art Auction will make Heritage Auctions the first auction house to host a major sale in Los Angeles in decades. The event is designed to increase Heritage Auctions' involvement and support of the city's vast art scene and to cultivate relationships with established and emerging collectors in the region.

Since 2009, Heritage has made significant moves to expand its Los Angeles location, with specialists in Modern & Contemporary Art, Jewelry, Timepieces, Asian Art, Rare & Ancient Coins and Fine Wine.

"It was time for Heritage to reimagine its presence, not only in the Los Angeles art community but also within the broader art market," Heritage Auctions Director of Modern & Contemporary Art Leon Benrimon said. "Bringing our November auction to the West Coast was a move that made sense for us, as well as for our growing collector base in California."

Heritage will hold its May Modern & Contemporary Art auction in New York.

Fernando Botero's 1967 Un Abogado (est. $200,000-300,000) is an oil on canvas of the artist's signature style known as "Boterismo" — a term given to the signature, voluptuous figures in his work. This work, the name of which translates (from Spanish) to "a lawyer" — measures 35-1/2 inches high by 34-1/4 inches wide. "Many people know me as the painter of the 'fat ladies,' and it doesn't disturb me," he said in a recent interview, although he has insisted that he paints the "sensuality of form."

Pablo Picasso's 1962 Scène de Tauromachie (est. $100,000-150,000) is of ink, wash and chalk on paper, measures 13 inches high by 20-1/4 inches wide and is signed, dated and inscribed in the lower left corner: "Pablo Picasso / 12.12.62 / Pour Janine et Francis Crémieux, leur ami." The image depicts a bullfighting scene, a reoccurring theme in Picasso's work, specifically after the mid-1950s.

Wayne Thiebaud's 2008 Three Cake Slices (est. $100,000-150,000) is a watercolor and brush with black ink on paper that measures 11-1/4 inches high by 9-1/8 inches wide and is signed and dated — "Thiebaud 2008" — in the upper left corner. Three Cake Slices falls into Thiebaud's penchant for repetition and confection with three slices that are identical except in flavor.

Duane Hanson's 1983 Baby in Carriage (est. $80,000-120,000) already is creating a stir, as some have assumed that it is a live child who had been left unattended. The polyvinyl figurine, polychromed in oil, shows an infant asleep in an umbrella stroller. Adding to the realism is a large blue bag, like those in which parents often carry babies' numerous supplies, dangling from the stroller's handle. "My art is not about fooling people," Hanson said. "It's the human attitudes I'm after: fatigue, a bit of frustration, rejection. To me, there is a kind of beauty in all of this."

Two 2007 versions of KAWS' Companion one grey and one brown each carry a pre-auction estimate of $15,000-25,000. These painted cast vinyl figures are stamped "©KAWS..07" under the right foot and "Medicom Toy / 2007 / Made in China" under the left foot." Each is accompanied by a hologram certificate from Medicom Toy. KAWS's first toy, also called Companion, was released in 1999 as a thank you from Japanese clothing company, realmadHECTIC. KAWS had painted the brand's new store, and in return, they offered to produce his first edition. It was then that KAWS decided that he would "take down" the most iconic cartoon, Mickey Mouse, whose characteristics are prevalent throughout the artist's work.