Wolf Kahn

NEW YORK, NY.- Christie’s Fields of Vision: The Private Collection of Artists Wolf Kahn and Emily Mason totaled $8,122,375 and was 96% sold by lot and 152% hammer sold above low estimate. The auction saw bidding from America, Europe and Asia and 56% of lots sold exceeded their high estimates. Proceeds from the auction will benefit the Wolf Kahn | Emily Mason Foundation and the Emily Mason | Alice Trumbull Mason Foundation.

On Tuesday, Christie’s Fields of Vision: The Private Collection of Artists Wolf Kahn and Emily Mason totaled $8,122,375 and was 96% sold by lot and 152% hammer sold above low estimate. Both artists Wolf Kahn (1927-2020) and Emily Mason (1932-2019), who split their time between New York City and Brattleboro,...

Artists Wolf Kahn (1927-2020) and Emily Mason (1932-2019) not only left their mark on American art, they left an indelible impression on Vermont’s art and artists. The couple, who split their time between New York City and Brattleboro, founded the Wolf Kahn | Emily Mason Foundation in 1998, originally to support cultural institutions through grants for exhibitions, artists residencies and community engagement with the arts.

Artists Wolf Kahn (1927-2020) and Emily Mason (1932-2019) not only left their mark on American art, they left an indelible impression on Vermont’s art and artists. The couple, who split their time between New York City and Brattleboro, founded the Wolf Kahn | Emily Mason Foundation in 1998, originally to support cultural institutions through grants for exhibitions, artists residencies and community engagement with the arts.

Wolf Kahn (1927-2020), Down East Sunset I. Oil on canvas, 52 x 72 in. (132 x 182.8 cm.) Painted in 1997. Estimate: $50,000-70,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2021. NEW YORK, NY.- Christie’s announces Fields of Vision: The Private Collection of Artists Wolf Kahn and Emily Mason comprising paintings, works on paper, prints and sculptures, which reflect the many friendships the couple developed with other artists in their lifetimes. This dynamic collection is characterized by the inquisitive and nurturing natures of Mason and Kahn who, outside of their own studio practices, acquired meaningful works of art by their peers and artists they deeply admired. Mason and Kahn belonged to a generation of painters and sculptors who, feeling unencumbered by the traditional academic system, were able to develop new languages of expression. Highlights of the collection will be offered in a dedicated live auction on May 18, in New York, alongside the American Art Auction, and a dedicated online sale of the collection will take place from May 6-20. The auctions will feature important works by Mason and Kahn as well other distinguished artists such as Georgia O’Keeffe, Richard Diebenkorn, Lee Bontecou, and Marsden Hartley.

Artists, lovers, life-partners, art-world rivals, benefactors, and luminaries, Emily Mason (1932–2019) and Wolf Kahn (1927–2020) were all of these things—and more. Miles McEnery Gallery has devoted each of its two spaces to the first posthumous solo gallery exhibitions for the couple, who died within months of each other after more than sixty years of marriage. The shows offer a rare opportunity to compare and contrast the work of two very different painters—one abstract and the other figurative—who shared a passion for vibrant color, the bucolic landscapes of Vermont and Italy, and who both aimed in their works for pure, soul-baring expressivity.