NEW YORK, NY.- This May, Sotheby’s will present works from the collection of Saul and Ellyn Dennison, two deeply engaged collectors whose lives were shaped by a sustained commitment to artists and the evolving language of contemporary art. Bringing together paintings, works on paper, and conceptual objects acquired over forty years, the collection offers a vivid portrait of a couple who approached collecting as an ongoing dialogue — with artists, with institutions, and with the cultural topics of their time.

Saul and Ellyn Dennison collected with instinct, curiosity, and conviction, supporting artists at pivotal moments in their careers and remaining closely attuned to the creative energy of their moment. Their collection reflects this sensibility, with works spanning the latter half of the 20th century alongside acquisitions from the early 2000s, united not by a single medium or movement, but by an enduring belief in experimentation and artistic risk.

"Saul and Ellyn were the kind of collectors every gallerist wanted for their artists. Since opening my gallery in 1996, the Dennisons were a dedicated and consistent presence, genuinely looking at the art and asking questions about the artists. They spent a lifetime honing their eye and following their instincts, and developed deep, genuine relationships with the works they brought into their lives. Their commitment and respect for the art, the artists and the institutions they supported mattered enormously. Theirs was a collection built on belief, and you can feel that in every piece they chose." Marianne Boesky, Founder, Marianne Boesky Gallery

What began with a museum patron's trip to London in 1980 quickly became conviction. Returning home with a new understanding of what it meant to own and live with art, Saul and Ellyn began acquiring works in earnest, including many from emerging talent shows at the Guggenheim Museum. As their travels grew to encompass art fairs, biennials and exhibitions across the country and abroad, Saul and Ellyn built close working relationships with some of the most influential dealers of the period, among them Marianne Boesky, Mary Boone, Barbara Gladstone, Curt Marcus, Andrea Rosen, Jack Shainman and Donald Young, each of whom helped deepen their understanding of the artists shaping contemporary art in real time. From the outset, it was emerging voices that drew them most — Ross Bleckner, Francesco Clemente, Jenny Holzer, David Salle — artists whose reputations have since been secured as defining figures of the Downtown New York scene of the 1980s. The Dennisons did not simply acquire their work, they believed in it early, and championed it with genuine conviction.

Central to their lives was a profound and long-standing relationship with the New Museum in New York, first with its visionary founding director Marcia Tucker, and continuing with its next director Lisa Phillips. Saul Dennison joined the Board of Trustees in 1990, driven by a desire to give back to the art world and to deepen his understanding of contemporary art. Over the following decades, Saul served as President of the Board, later Chairman and Chairman Emeritus, helping to guide the museum through a period of significant growth, including the opening of its landmark building on the Bowery in 2007. The Dennisons’ engagement with the New Museum reflected a broader philosophy that defined their collecting: a commitment to artists working in the present, and a belief in the importance of sustaining the institutions that support them.

Their approach to collecting was inseparable from the way they lived. Over time, their home in Bernardsville, New Jersey, evolved alongside the collection, expanding to accommodate an ever-growing body of work including outdoor sculpture. Friends, artists, and fellow collectors were welcomed into a space where art was not simply displayed, but lived with — a reflection of their belief that collecting was an active, ongoing process of discovery. As their daughter, Lisa Dennison, once recalled, every corner of the house was filled with art, and there was always room for more.

“Saul and Ellyn Dennison approached collecting as a form of stewardship — not only of works of art, but of the institutions and artists they believed in. During a critical moment for the New Museum in the early 1990s, they led by example in donating works from their collection to help secure its future. That same ethos defines the collection: a sustained commitment to artists of their time, and to the broader cultural ecosystem in which their work unfolds.” -- Ashkan Baghestani, Head of Contemporary Art Day Sale, Sotheby’s

Highlights from the collection include Richard Serra’s Walking the Dog (est. $500,000-700,000), Mark Tansey’s Study for “Forward Retreat” (est. $250,000-350,000), and Félix Gonzáles-Torres’s Untitled (est.
$100,000-150,000). These works along with further highlights will go on view at Sotheby’s during its second marquee season at The Breuer on May 2, ahead of the New York Sales May 14-20.

More than a reflection of personal taste, the Saul and Ellyn Dennison Collection stands as a testament to a life lived in close dialogue with artists and institutions. Through their sustained curiosity, generosity, and belief in the importance of supporting contemporary art as it unfolds, they helped to shape a cultural landscape defined by openness, experimentation, and exchange. This collection offers a rare opportunity to engage with that legacy, and to carry it forward.

Collection Highlights

Richard Serra Walking the Dog 1997
Est. $500,000 – 700,000

Richard Serra’s Walking the Dog is a powerful example from the artist’s Rounds series, distinguished by its dense surface and sculptural presence. Executed at a pivotal moment in Serra’s exploration of paintstick on paper, the work reflects the artist’s enduring engagement with weight, balance, and materiality, and belongs to a body of work now held in major institutional collections.

Mark Tansey
Study for “Forward Retreat”
1986
Est. $250,000 – 350,000

Mark Tansey’s Study for “Forward Retreat” offers a rare insight into the artist’s process, serving as a preparatory work for the monumental painting now in the collection of The Broad, Los Angeles. With its vivid monochromatic surface and visible annotations, the work reveals Tansey’s conceptual rigor, exploring themes of historical memory, representation, and the cyclical nature of artistic progress.

Félix Gonzáles-Torres
Untitled
1989
Est. $100,000 – 150,000

Untitled is a rare example from the artist’s celebrated puzzle works. Incorporating familiar imagery drawn from popular culture, the work exemplifies González-Torres’s ability to transform everyday materials into meditations on authorship, perception, and the shared language of contemporary life. Intimate in scale yet expansive in meaning, it reflects the conceptual sensitivity that defines his practice.