NEW YORK, NY.- Christie's announced the sale of Property from the Collection of Wilma (Billie) and Laurence Tisch best known for their business and philanthropic leadership in New York and beyond. Led by a bronze by Henry Moore, the collection's diverse approaches to figuration by Jean Arp, Jean Dubuffet, Fernand Léger, and Pablo Picasso represent a compelling profile of top iconic artists across the 20th Century. The collection will be sold beginning in London on October 21 with a bronze by Barry Flanagan in the Modern British Art Evening Sale, and then the majority of the collection will be offered in New York during November Marquee Week within the 20th Century Evening Sale, the Impressionist and Modern Art Day Sale, and the Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale, and in subsequent sales into 2027. In total, the collection is expected to realize in excess of $15 million, with proceeds going to the Tisch family foundations to continue the couple's lifelong philanthropic mission.

The top lot of the collection is British master Henry Moore's bronze Seated Figure (estimate: $5 - 8 million), conceived in 1952-53 and closely related to the stylized female form in Moore's King and Queen sculpture, which set a new world auction record for the artist when it sold for over £26 million at Christie's London earlier this year. Seated Figure was acquired by the couple in 1965, while another cast from the edition is owned by the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation, Los Angeles. Additional highlights include Picasso's Femme assise, painted in April of 1958 ($4 - 6 million), and Gens et Lieux, a large collage on canvas made by Jean Dubuffet in 1976 ($2.5 - 3.5 million). The most recent work in the collection is Six Foot Leaping Hare on Steel Pyramid, a sculpture made by Irish Welsh sculptor Barry Flanagan in 1990.

Conor Jordan, Deputy Chairman of Impressionist and Modern Art, remarks, "Billie and Larry Tisch were inspiring collectors whose civic contributions played an instrumental role in shaping the landscape of art, education and culture in New York City. We are humbled to have been entrusted as stewards of their exceptional collection of twentieth century art and look forward to sharing their legacy with the global community this fall.”

Laurence Tisch bridged the worlds of Wall Street and American business as CEO of the Loews Corporation and CBS. Together with Billie, Mr. Tisch was active in community and philanthropic causes ranging from NYU and its medical and hospital system to the UJA Federation. Billie likewise assumed significant civic responsibilities, carried out with clarity and grace. Billie was intimately involved in the merger of the UJA and the New York Federation and served as chairwoman of the WNYC Foundation, among other endeavors.

The Tisch home was warm and welcoming, with family and friends ever-present. Their art collection, incorporated seamlessly throughout their living spaces, reflected their graciousness and generosity of spirit.