The Josefowitz Collection

  • Event date October – December 2023
  • Event location London & Paris
Christie’s is honoured to present The Sam Josefowitz Collection, a series of auctions showcasing one collector’s lifelong passion and scholarly dedication to capturing a panorama of human achievement, from antiquities to post-Impressionist works.

Launching this October and running through to the end of 2023, the fabled collection will be offered across six live and online sales in London and Paris. The flagship auction, Masterpieces from the Collection of Sam Josefowitz, on 13 October in London spans the astonishing breadth of the collection, highlighted by an Assyrian relief, Rembrandt’s Self-Portrait etching at a Window, Félix Vallotton’s masterpiece Cinq heures and more. Following this are three focused sales on Pont-Aven artists to be held in Paris, beginning with an Evening Sale on 20 October, a Day Sale on 21 October and an online-only auction open for bidding from 12 to 25 October. On 7 December in London, a selection of Sam’s unrivalled collection of Rembrandt’s prints will be offered in two sales: Old Masters Part I auction will include five highly important subjects and will be followed by the dedicated sale of The Sam Josefowitz Collection: Graphic Masterpieces by Rembrandt van Rijn.

The Sam Josefowitz Collection represents a passionate and innovative approach to curation, with discovery and scholarship at its heart. Explore the collection in our pre-sale exhibitions in London and Paris this autumn, and trace this extraordinary journey spanning over 50 years embarked by one of the most revered collectors of our time. Entry is free and open to all.
Sam Josefowitz

About Sam Josefowitz

Sam Josefowitz



Sam Josefowitz was one of the most revered collectors of our time. His vast-ranging collection of discoveries spanning antiquities to post-Impressionist works is defined by a passionate and scholarly approach. Whether entrepreneurial, cultural, academic or personal, Sam Josefowitz’s innate and boundless curiosity was the thread which connected his ventures. For more than 50 years, Josefowitz, who was captivated by the history of humanity, assembled an astonishing array of works of art: from the time of the ancient Romans and Assyrians to the advent of modern printing technologies; from the precision of Rembrandt to the innovation of Gauguin. A scholar and an explorer, Josefowitz was drawn to artists who, too, saw the world as a marvel.

Sam Josefowitz purchased his first painting in 1947, and since then, embarked on a lifelong journey of discovery. In 1949 after visiting an exhibition on Eugène Carrière in Paris, Josefowitz decided to devote his energies to learning all about post-Impressionism. In 1956, Josefowitz first visited Pont-Aven, the small town in Brittany where these artists had worked — a moment that would define his collecting ethos. As his imagination was captured by the works of Pont-Aven artists, Josefowitz’s collection grew and developed a key focus in this artistic movement. On a flight from Paris to Geneva, where Josefowitz met engravings dealer Ira Gale, his interest in Rembrandt engravings began. Scholarship and conversation were to be the throughlines of Josefowitz’s collection and life: he was, above all, a man captivated by stories.

Tour

Christie's New York

Viewing

Christie's London

London

Location
Christie’s London
8 King St., St. James’s
London, SW1Y 6QT

Viewing
6–12 October

Christie's Paris

Paris

Location
Christie’s Paris
9 Avenue Matignon
75008 Paris

Viewing
12–25 October

Special features

Sam Josefowitz

The life, travels and collecting journey of Sam Josefowitz: ‘When something seems to you to be a masterpiece, dive in’

After making his fortune through one of North America’s biggest record clubs, Sam Josefowitz pursued his passion for art in earnest, bringing the Pont-Aven painters into the spotlight and building the world’s most important private collection of Rembrandt prints

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Recollections of a Collector by Sam Josefowitz

The Sam Josefowitz Collection

Sam Josefowitz: A collector of passion, discernment, breadth, and depth by MaryAnne Stevens

The Sam Josefowitz Collection

An introduction to Caillebotte’s oeuvre and life by Stephanie Chardeau-Botteri

The Sam Josefowitz Collection

An introduction to Kees van Dongen’s oeuvre by Anita Hopmans

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The Sam Josefowitz Collection

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Main images: © Kees van Dongen, DACS 2023. © Diego Giacometti, DACS 2023.