Christie’s has organized an online auction dedicated to Henri Matisse’s draftsmanship, drawn exclusively from the holdings of the Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation. More than sixty lots trace the artist’s sustained engagement with line across prints and drawings in ink, charcoal, and pencil, with estimates ranging from $800 to $80,000. Proceeds will support the Foundation’s grantmaking in arts and arts education across New York City.
The selection foregrounds the role of paper in Matisse’s practice. Subjects span arabesques, landscapes, florals, heads, full figures, and self-portraits, offering a compact survey of how the artist simplified form while sustaining rhythm and contour. Among the highlights is Nu au chapeau (La robe jaune), a pencil drawing executed between 1929 and 1931 (31.7 × 23.9 cm), estimated at $40,000–$60,000.
The auction is also a study in provenance. Works come directly from the collection of Pierre Matisse—Henri Matisse’s youngest son and a key conduit of European modernism to the United States—together with holdings associated with Tana Matisse, who formalized the Foundation to channel private collections into public cultural infrastructure. Pierre’s New York gallery career advanced the visibility of artists ranging from Joan Miró and Marc Chagall to his father, while Tana’s professional path through London and New York galleries underpins the Foundation’s mission-driven approach.
Grantmaking is central to the project. Since 2003, the Foundation has awarded more than $50 million through 800 grants to organizations citywide, emphasizing access to the arts for communities with limited resources. Beneficiaries include UpBeat NYC, Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls, Classical Theatre of Harlem, and Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art & Storytelling, reflecting a portfolio that spans music education, theatre, and museum-based learning.
In curatorial terms, the sale functions as a concise anthology of Matisse’s paper-based methods. The breadth of media and subject matter—assembled from material that remained in the Foundation for decades—provides context for both specialist collectors and first-time buyers seeking primary examples of the artist’s economy of means.
Venue and dates: Online — September 24 to October 8, 2025.
