NEW YORK, NY.- Sotheby’s will offer Property from the Collection of Bernard & Josephine Chaus—co-founders of American sportswear firm, Bernard Chaus Inc.—in a series of auctions beginning this spring in New York. Collected over the course of nearly four decades by the couple, works of art ranging from fine paintings to jewelry to European furniture will be auctioned across seven sales.

FROM BUYERS TO CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICERS: JOSEPHINE & BERNARD CHAUS
Chief executive officer, fashion tycoon and role model for female entrepreneurs around the world, Josephine Chaus entered the world of fashion at the age of 22. It was there, as a buyer for a New Jersey store, where she happened across a man by the name of Bernard Chaus. Bernard was of similar background beginning his career as a showroom salesman at the age of 16. Rising swiftly through the ranks, he became a principal at 29, before selling his blouse business and retiring from the showroom right before he met Josephine. Not long after this encounter, the two travelled cross-country for a year before deciding to become business partners, founding Bernard Chaus, Inc. in 1975

A true partnership, Josephine ran all creative initiatives while Bernard focused upon the finances and sales force. As the business achieved considerable success, lining the walls of department stores around the United States and appealing to woman around the world, Bernard Chaus Inc. remained a public company under the stewardship of the Chaus’s. Even after the passing of her partner and husband of 13 years, Josephine returned to the office after a week, steering the firm through successes and disappointments: adding sportswear lines, consolidating production costs, and expanding retail. Later, as chairwoman of Bernard Chaus Inc., Josephine oversaw the momentous merger with the Camuto Group in 2012. Josephine Chaus passed away in November 2015 leaving behind a remarkable legacy as one of the first female chief executive officers of a public company, as well as the co-founder of a successful woman’s sportswear fashion line.

MAGNIFICENT JEWELS
Auction, 19 April 2016
Sotheby’s will offer a Platinum and Diamond Ring (estimate $1.2/1.8 million) from Josephine Chaus’s personal collection in the Magnificent Jewels sale, held in New York on 19 April. The ring features an emerald-cut diamond weighing 15.37 carats, D color, VVS 1 clarity, Type lla and potentially Internally Flawless.

IMPRESSIONIST AND MODERN ART EVENING SALE
Auction, 9 May 2016
Paintings and sculptures collected by Josephine and Bernard Chaus will be offered during Sotheby’s Evening Sale of Impressionist & Modern Art on 9 May 2016. Leading the group is Composition au cheval blanc (estimate $3.5/5 million), an oil on canvas by Fernand Léger. The dynamic figural composition, painted just months after the end of World War II, presents one of the artist’s most beloved themes in a bold, decisive, color palette. .

Also highlighting the collection are three sculptures by Aristide Maillol, led by Le Monument à Claude Debussy (estimate $1.5/2.5 million). Commissioned in 1930 by Saint Germain-en-Laye, the hometown of Impressionist composer Claude Debussy, the present sculpture is the artist’s only-known direct reference to music. Casts of Le Monument à Claude Debussy hold court in museum collections in both final form, as at the Toledo Museum of Art, and in studies, as assembled by the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

COLLECTIONS
Auction, October 2016
Envisioned by Peter Marino, furniture and decorative art from the Chaus’ Upper East Side townhouse will be auctioned during the Collections sale in October 2016. Ranging from chandeliers to mirrors, side tables to candlesticks, clients will have an opportunity to purchase a selection of decorative art collected by the celebrated tastemakers. One of the highlights of the sale is a Set of Four George IV Gilt-Brass Four-Light Chandeliers (estimate $150/250,000). Of significant quality, this set of four chandeliers is attributed to William Collins of London, a leading supplier of ormolu and brass light fittings.