The Elizabeth A. Keck Collection: A Connoisseur’s EyeFrom an early age, Elizabeth A. Keck – “Libby” as she was known – shared a passion for arts and music. Her studies at the Julliard School, where she learned to compose original music, coupled with her extensive international travel, fueled an appreciation for classical architecture and interiors. And her tireless dedication to the study of French furniture and decorative arts led her to become a highly-regarded connoisseur among renowned scholars.

As a matriarch of one of America’s leading philanthropic families, Libby played an active role in the Los Angeles arts and music scene, serving on the boards of the County Museum of Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Huntington Museum and the Music Center. She was also a founding member of the prestigious non-profit organization The Colleagues, members of which have included Nancy Reagan and Betsy Bloomingdale, which still operates today to raise funds to benefit Children's Institute, Inc. and to end child abuse and neglect.

With a collection spanning the best of 18th century furniture and decorative arts to jewelry and Contemporary art, Elizabeth Keck’s passion for the best has been a motif of her connoisseurship over the decades. Libby relentlessly honed her eye, mastering a vibrant vision for her California residences, La Lanterne and Holmby Hills Villa Cornelia, while working closely with tastemakers and interior decorators such as Jacques Grange, who has cited her as one of the great muses to enter his life. Her resolute commitment to detail is apparent in every aspect of her home: from consciously choosing to brighten the classical color palettes of formal maison particuliers with explosive colors in bold works by Helen Frankenthaler and Serge Poliakoff, to deliberately deploying the California sunlight into her homes, so that each work of art is framed with natural light. And, perhaps the ultimate testimony to Libby’s love of color is exemplified in her collection of superb jewels, featuring a variety of rubies, sapphires, emeralds and diamonds.

Andrea Fiuczynski, Chairman of Sotheby’s Americas commented: “We’re delighted to be offering the collection of one of Los Angeles’ grandes dames of the arts community. Libby’s passionate pursuit of beauty guided her to each work of art she acquired, forming a unique collection in which diverse material became cohesive, entirely livable, and still desirable today.”

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE COLLECTION AMERICAN ART Auction 13 NovemberTreasured by the Cassatt family for a century, Master Robert Kelso Cassatt is a beautifully executed and sensitive portrait by Mary Cassatt (estimate $500/700,000). Picturing her favorite nephew, the son of her beloved brother, the work demonstrates Cassatt’s preoccupation with portraying the world that she knew. Her dedication to her subjects, clearly present in Master Robert Kelso, informs the entirety of her oeuvre and contributes to the facility with which she captured familial, and particularly maternal, intimacy.

IMPRESSIONIST & MODERN ART DAY SALE Auction 15 NovemberIn addition to works by Émile Bernard, Jean-Pierre Cassigneul and Louis Valtat, The Collection of Elizabeth A. Keck will offer Aristide Maillol’s bronze sculpture Torse De Marie (estimate $500/700,000). Modeled after his maid of the same name, Marie’s form appears repeatedly throughout Maillol’s oeuvre and served as a central figure in some of his most renowned works, including his celebrated sculpture Les Trois nymphes. As was his general practice, Maillol would begin his sculptures by modelling the torso and would later add the head and limbs. The present example speaks to how integral the torso was in all of Maillol’s finished works and further underscores the influence of antiquity that pervades his artistic process.

CONTEMPORARY ART DAY AUCTION Auction 17 NovemberReturning to the public eye after 30 years, Helen Frankenthaler’s Four Color Space is a captivating exploration of color and composition (estimate $500/700,000). Painted in 1966, the large-scale work showcases the artist’s initial exploration into compositional cropping, in which orientation is determined after the physical painting has been completed. Four Color Space also offers insight into the influence of the work of her husband Robert Motherwell, who had just begun his series of Open paintings, that explored the duality of presence and absence. In addition to Four Color Space by Frankenthaler, the Contemporary Art Day Auction will include a 1958 painting by Theodoros Stamos and an untitled gouache on paper by Serge Poliakoff from the Keck Collection.

MAGNIFICENT & FINE JEWELS Auctions 5 December & 7 DecemberElizabeth A. Keck’s philosophy of collecting only the best material applied to her jewelry as well. Ranging from notable colored stones to feminine fashionable pieces, her jewels speak to her elegance, sophistication, and position at the top of LA society. Led by an exquisite 11.15 carat emerald-cut diamond ring (estimate $300/400,000) the collection offers a superb selection of impressive colored stones, including sapphires, emeralds and a stunning 11.13 carats Classic Thai Ruby and Diamond Ring (estimate $80/120,000). In addition to bold colored stones, the collection boasts a timeless selection of quintessential 1970s and 1980’s designs by Van Cleef & Arpels, various cultured pearl necklaces and an exquisite ‘Bird on a Rock’ brooch by Schlumberger for Tiffany and Co, France. Taken together, the colorful assemblage speaks of a woman who had a clear sense of personal style.

COLLECTIONS: EUROPEAN DECORATIVE ARTS Spring 2018The Keck Collection of European decorative arts is the perfect realization of what is still globally admired as ‘le grand goût français’ – interiors worthy of an 18thcentury royal palace, combined with the practicality of Keck’s relaxed, southern California aesthetic. Our Spring sale of European decorative arts will feature important furniture, porcelain, silver, glassware, and decoration from Mrs. Keck’s residences in California, providing a rare window into her lifestyle of collecting and entertaining. Her love for 18th century French furniture is evident throughout the collection, including masterpieces of Louis XV furniture such as an Important gilt-bronze mounted commode by Delorme (estimate $100/200,000) a Pair Of Louis XV Giltwood Bergeres (estimate $120/180,000) by Jean-Baptiste Tilliard, as well as an exceptionally rare Green-Painted And Parcel-Gilt Tole Chandelier (estimate $200/300,000), one of only a handful that were made.