Anna Moffo Sarnoff Estate Sale at Sotheby's

Wednesday, 30 August 2006 10:32

New York City – In fall 2006, Sotheby’s will offer Property from the Anna Moffo Sarnoff Estate, the private collection of one of the Twentieth Century’s greatest sopranos.  A woman who traveled extensively throughout her career as an international opera star, Anna Moffo Sarnoff was no doubt inspired by the breadth of diverse cultures she encountered; her extraordinary collection of fine and decorative works of art, which will be highlighted in a series of New York sales through December, spans three continents and over three centuries.  This property, which includes several outstanding Contemporary and Modern works, as well as fine Chinese Works of Art and 19^th Century European Furniture and Decorative Arts, reflects her unique passion for collecting in a range of areas.

Anna Moffo Sarnoff
Born on June 27, 1932, Anna Moffo had a gift to sing and perform from the start, one which would allow her to travel far beyond the limits of her hometown of Wayne, Pennsylvania, and rise to international stardom.  One of the most acclaimed and memorable voices of her time, she not only conquered the world of opera but those of film and television as well.  Anna Moffo studied singing at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute before receiving a Fulbright Scholarship to continue her studies in Rome and Venice.  It was in Italy where she first appeared on stage and in filmed operas.  Within a few years, her extensive training combined with an unparalleled ease and grace led Anna Moffo to starring performances in major theaters around the world, including London’s Covent Garden, Milan’s La Scala, Berlin’s Komische Oper, and of course, New York’s own Metropolitan.  After her November 14, 1959 Met debut as Violetta in Verdi’s La Traviata, she sang 200 performances for the company, in twenty-one roles over eighteen seasons.  Many of these roles were captured in definitive recordings, particularly Violetta, Madame Butterfly, Gilda in Rigoletta, Magda in La Rondine and Mimi in La Boheme.

In addition to her brilliant and versatile voice, Anna possessed a physical beauty not often seen in opera.  Ever glamorous and charming both on and offstage, she was a perfect fit for entertainment beyond the sphere of opera.  Anna made a number of dramatic film and television appearances, and even hosted her own Italian television show for a number of years.  In 1974, she added yet another facet to her life, this time however not one relating to her career.  Anna Moffo fell in love with and married Robert Sarnoff, the Chairman of RCA, on November 14, 1974, the same date as her Met debut.  Although she continued her performances with the Metropolitan opera for only several more years, she was not satisfied with leaving the world with which she had grown so close.  Forever a generous, thoughtful and loving woman, Anna spent much of her time encouraging and teaching young singers, as well as serving as a valued member of the boards of the Metropolitan Opera Guild, the Curtis Institute, and many other musical organizations.

Anna Moffo and her husband remained avid art collectors until Robert’s death in 1997.  Together they amassed the wonderful collection to be offered at Sotheby’s this fall.  The works together are expected to bring from $1.5 to 2.3 million.

Contemporary Art
The centerpiece of Anna Moffo’s 20^th Century works of art is Isamu Noguchi’s The Sky, set to be auctioned in this fall’s Contemporary Art Evening sale on November 14^th.  Throughout his artistic career, Noguchi remained loyal to the simplistic aesthetics of primitive forms, which early on became symbolic of his unique style and continued to remain fundamental to his oeuvre.  Executed in 1964, the smooth, white, marble, ring is a powerful symbol among all cultures, reminiscent of a halo, associated with the notion of infinity, the golden age, harmony, perfection, and above all the cycle of life.  Demonstrating the artist’s zeal for natural materials and forms, The Sky is the quintessential Noguchi work of art (pictured here, est. $500/700,000). 

Included in the Contemporary Art Day sale, November 15^th, is one of Robert Indiana’s iconic Love paintings.  An archetypal image from the Pop-Art movement, Love has become a truly ubiquitous symbol of American culture during the last quarter of the 20^th Century.  Not only did the artist himself repeat the picture on canvas, in print, and in sculptural form, Love can be seen in a multitude of media ranging from U.S. postage stamps to book covers, and even greeting cards.  Although duplicated by design, the artist varied the color composition greatly, allowing for a variety of possible interpretations.  The work in Anna Moffo’s collection, executed in acrylic on canvas, uniquely juxtaposes red and blue, combining passion and despair, emphasizing the dualities inherent in all manifestations of this both elemental and complex emotion (pictured here, est. $200/300,000).

Impressionist and Modern Art, Part II
Offered in the November 8^th Impressionist Day sale is Jean Arp’s Château des Oiseaux, a beautifully executed marble form that appears to challenge the very nature of this unyielding medium (pictured here).  A writer and poet himself, Arp spoke eloquently throughout his life about his work.  In a short essay which appeared in On my Way: Poetry and Essays 1912-1947, he wrote the following about his working method: "Often a detail of one of my sculptures, an outline, a contrast seduces me and becomes the seed of a new sculpture.  I accentuate an outline, a contrast and that results in the birth of new forms...”.  These biomorphic creations, primarily derived from plant and vegetable forms, communicate a sense of fluidity that permeates all earthly materials.  Arp had always enjoyed seeing his sculptures in natural settings as seen by his carving large slabs of stone into various shapes and placing them in his garden in Ticino where they could merge into the landscape and become one with nature.  This exemplary work is estimated to sell for $300/400,000.

Chinese Works of Art
One of the highlights from Anna Moffo’s collection of Chinese works of art is an important early European-market Namban-style painted lacquer six-panel screen, 17^th century.  The screen is a very rare and early example of Chinese lacquer made for the export market to Europe just as China was trying to re-establish itself within the trade market after years of Japanese control.  Additionally, this specific example bears some later Anglo-Dutch elements, such as metalwork detailing and tooled-leather reinforcements, confirming that the screen was successfully exported to Europe where it received such enhancements during the second half of the seventeenth century.  This beautiful example of cross-continental craftsmanship is expected to sell for $120/150,000.

Visit Sotheby's at : www.sothebys.com/