COURTESY SOTHEBY’S
On November 11, Sotheby’s in New York will sell Cy Twombly’s Untitled, 1968 (New York City), with estimated price exceeding $60 million, according to the auction house. The painting comes from the collection of philanthropist Audrey Irmas, and the sale will benefit the Audrey Irmas Foundation for Social Justice, with $30 million set aside for the construction of a new building for the Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles. The new structure, designed by the office for Metropolitan Architecture and overseen by Rem Koolhaas, will be named the Audrey Irmas Pavilion.
In a statement, Irmas said the following: “I have loved living with this magnificent work by Cy Twombly for 25 years. Similarly, Wilshire Boulevard Temple has been an important part of my family for generations, and when I learned of the vision for the new building, and how it would enrich the wider community, I decided that now was the right time to share my good fortune with others. It was a difficult decision to part with such a treasured work of art but the idea of bringing joy to so many makes me incredibly happy.”
Twombly’s work will be on view at Sotheby’s L.A. location on September 24-25, before traveling to London, and finally New York.