Joan Miró L’Oiseau encerclant de l’or éntincelant la pensée du poète

Sotheby’s is honored to present the collection of noted Chicago businessman and philanthropist, Jerome H. Stone. Assembled by Mr. Stone and his wife, Evelyn, predominantly in the 1950s and '60s, the collection offers important modern works by artists including Fernand Léger, Alberto Giacometti, Joan Miró, Juan Gris and Marc Chagall, among others, which will be offered across a series of auctions this spring. Drawn exclusively from leading dealers of the day, including Pierre Matisse and Sidney Janis, and unseen in public for more than 40 years, the collection is estimated at more than $40 million, with the highlights to be offered in Sotheby’s Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale on 5 May 2015. Select works will travel to Hong Kong and London for exhibition prior to the auction in New York.

JEROME H. STONE (1913-2015)

From modest beginnings, the impact of Jerome Stone’s life would come to be felt across various sectors of his home city of Chicago and beyond. He built a family business, Stone Container Corporation, into a national, multibillion dollar firm and, throughout his adult life, committed himself to causes and institutions that mattered to him and his family, once saying, “Do things here and now, not after you’re gone. If you have some money, share it. And if you have some time, do something worthwhile.” He was an early and devoted supporter of Roosevelt University, serving as Board Chairman for 15 years, and was a crucial figure in securing the future of the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, spearheading the fundraising responsible for the construction of the institution’s current location.

Yet perhaps Jerome Stone is best known for his groundbreaking work to conquer Alzheimer’s, a mission that would dominate his life following the diagnosis of his wife, Evelyn, in 1970. He brought visibility to a disease that was virtually undiscussed at the time and critical support and resources to aid in the advancement of research in the quest for a cure. His tireless commitment led to the creation of the Alzheimer’s Association in 1979, and in 1986 President Reagan presented him with the President's Volunteer Award in recognition of his work in the fight against the disease. Today, the Alzheimer’s Association has evolved into the largest and most influential global organization of its kind.

Joan Miró's fantastical composition from 1951, L’Oiseau encerclant de l’or éntincelant la pensée du poète, exemplifies the expressive potential of abstraction (est. $6/9 million, image above). When Miró painted the present canvas in 1951, he had already become acquainted with the new techniques and aesthetic agenda of the Abstract Expressionists, having been introduced to their work in the late 1940s by his great champion in the United States, Pierre Matisse. Matisse would go on to expose an entire generation of American collectors to Miró’s work and that of his fellow members of the European avant-garde. Stone first met Matisse in 1949 and the two developed a close relationship, with Matisse often granting Stone the right of first refusal on important works, including the present canvas, which Stone acquired in 1954.

Joan Miró. L’Oiseau encerclant de l’or éntincelant la pensée du poète. Est. $6/9 million.