The Michael Scharf Family Collection of The Stieglitz Circle | Christie's

Specialists Eric Widing and Paige Kestenman look at highlights from The Michael Scharf Family Collection. In 1908, a small exhibition of Auguste Rodin’s nude drawings opened in Manhattan. Organised by Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946), photographer, editor, and proselytiser of the European avant-garde, it was one of several subsequent exhibitions designed to expose the bewildered American public to new ideas in modern art. The show shocked society, and according to the Mexican artist Marius de Zayas it took another 11 years of ‘hard labour’ to convince the city that artists such as Cézanne, Picasso and Matisse had merit. Much of that was down to Stieglitz, who tirelessly promoted both European and American artists at his Manhattan galleries, first at the Little Galleries of the Photo-Secession (colloquially known as ‘291’), then at The Intimate Gallery, and finally at An American Place. Today, Stieglitz is regarded as a visionary protagonist in the birth of American modern art, and on 22 May in New York a comprehensive array of early, primarily abstract works by the American artists he promoted and who became members of his circle will be offered from The Michael Scharf Family Collection. These artists were often influenced by their contemporaries in Europe, and yet succeeded in creating a new and distinctly American genre. Find out more: http://bit.ly/2VWdJhm -- Subscribe to Christie's YouTube: http://goo.gl/Vmh7Hf Sign up to Christie's Weekly: https://goo.gl/kc8qpV Follow Christie's on: Facebook: http://bit.ly/2elC9Zg Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChristiesInc Instagram: http://bit.ly/2iJ3lGm Pinterest: http://bit.ly/2elCafM