Not only was Ruth Bader Ginsburg a supreme court justice, but she was also an avid art collector. Nearly two years following her death, the judge’s personal art collection is scheduled to go on the auction block.
According to The Guardian, Potomack Auctions is selling 115 paintings and ceramics from Ginsburg’s collection through an online catalog. There's also a separate collection, dubbed “Chambers and Home,” which features a variety of personal items, like bowls and vases. The auction is expected to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Ginsburg owned a number of rare paintings and sculptures in her lifetime. One of the notable paintings in her collection includes Presagio-Premonition, an oil painting done in the early 1950s by Mexican artist Gunther Gerzso.
The listing for the painting says it’s in “good condition,” with only minor paint loss on the canvas. It notes there’s a small splatter of house paint in the lower right corner. It’s estimated to go for upwards of $100,000.
Other paintings include Garden on Hydra, a 1948 oil painting by Nicolas Ghika, which is expected to go for as much as $60,000. Similarly, Peng Wei’s Chinese Robe, made with Chinese ink on rice paper, is also expected to fetch $60,000.
The auction is also offloading ceramics by Picasso as well as an Andy Warhol painting featuring a can of tomato soup.
Warhol paintings have sold for exceptionally high prices recently. One of the late artist’s most famous paintings, a silkscreen image known as “Shot Sage Blue Marilyn,” is set to go on sale soon, with estimates predicting it could fetch upwards of $200 million at an auction.
While the Warhol painting from Ginsburg’s collection – known as Campbells Soup Can On A Bag – was only predicted to go for up to $1,200, but it looks like it’ll go for more. The painting currently has 18 bids, with the highest for $3,500.
“These items are truly tangible pieces of her life and times as one of America’s greatest supreme court justices,’’ Potomack’s owner, Elizabeth Haynie Wainstein, said of the collection to The New York Times .
“These items would be of interest to all Americans who admired Justice Ginsburg as a civil rights pioneer and defender of equality for all Americans,” Wainstein added.
Bidding is currently open, and the auctions end on April 27 and 28. Proceeds made from the sale will go towards the Washington National Opera, which Ginsburg was a proud supporter of during her lifetime.
Sources: The Guardian, Potomack Company, New York Times,
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