New Orleans Auction Galleries is a favorite among collectors and dealers in the know—and for good reason. Drawing from the unique cultural melange and heritage of the city and the region, the beloved auction house draws a high-quality, rare, and eclectic range of art and objects. 

On April 24, the house will host its “Modern and Contemporary Art + Design” auction, featuring an impressive variety of paintings, prints, sculptures, furniture, pottery, and lighting design. 

The works from the estate of Houston collector Nancy R. Morrison will be a highlight of the auction, including an impressive pleated sculpture by Lynda Benglis, a powerful painting by American Modernist Dorothy Hood painting, and an special collection of Southwestern contemporary works. Fine art and furniture from the collection of fashion designer Adam Lippe will also be coming under the hammer as well as an impressive array of paintings and sculptures by artists from Louisiana. 

With hundreds of lots to explore, we’ve picked 5 favorites that you won’t want to miss.

Lynda Benglis
Kanzler (1987–88)
Estimate: $120,000–180,000

Lynda Benglis, Kanzler (1987–88). Courtesy of New Orleans Auction Galleries.

In Kanzler, Benglis employs the hard, uncompromising metals favored by male artists of the ’60s and ’70s in the creation of their “hard-edged” minimalist works, which she here transforms into “softer” forms reminiscent of feminine bows, pleats, and ruffles. The artist herself has commented that these forms were partially inspired by a nostalgia for the times she spent crocheting with her grandmother, one of the most significant and influential figures in her life. Through this juxtaposition of material and form, Benglis scrutinizes concepts of social norms, cultural symbolism, and the significance of knots in ancient cultures (such as the Incan Quipu). This remarable work comes from the estate of art collector Nancy R. Morrison of Houston. 

Georges Rouault
Trois Personnages
Estimate $20,000–40,000

Georges Rouault, Trois Personnages. Courtesy of New Orleans Auction Galleries.

One of the most popular modern artists of the Expressionist movement, Roualt was acclaimed for his use of bold graphic lines. As the gouache offered here reveals, the artist could combine a strategically limited color palette with assertive brushstrokes to create a work teeming with emotion and energy. This work came to Morrison by way of a Christie’s New York sale of works from the collection of Frank Sinatra.

Dale Chihuly
Garnet Flame Blown Glass Basket (2018)
Estimate: $10,000–15,000

Dale Chihuly, Garnet Flame Blown Glass Basket (2018). Courtesy of New Orleans Auction Galleries.

One of the most well-known and recognizable glass artists, Chihuly has been creating his vibrantly hued and striated vessels for over 50 years. He was one of the first Americans to be given access to the Murano glass-blowing studios of Venice, and he incorporated the techniques he learned there into his approach to the medium upon his return to the United States. The work offered here is a rare and unusual garnet-hued basket.

Sophie Ryder
Minotaur and Hare on Grate (1993)
Estimate $12,000–18,000

Sophie Ryder, Minotaur and Hare on Grate (1993). Courtesy of New Orleans Auction Galleries.

Sophie Ryder has created her own mythology, a world populated by a menagerie of hybrid hares, minotaurs, and dogs. Her earliest anthropomorphized figures were monumental constructions intended for outdoor settings and open spaces. Composed of intricately bent and twisted wire, with sawdust, plastic, found objects, and metal, these sculptures jauntily occupy space within their natural setting. These hybrid figures with human bodies and animal heads are permitted a degree of freedom of expression, untethered by any societal expectations or pressures, allowing Ryder commentary on human emotions, relationships, and motivations. The sculpture offered here, the Lady Hare and Minotaur, is a figural group that Ryder has revisited in various configurations for decades.

Logan Maxwell Hagege
Floating Skull at Vermillion Cliffs (2012)
Estimate: $20,000–40,000

Logan Maxwell Hagege, Floating Skull at Vermillion Cliffs (2012). Courtesy of New Orleans Auction Galleries.

Hagege’s modern vision of the American West is a landscape distilled into its purest essence. The large planes of color, masterful use of light, and observation of nature merge to create a place where imagination and realism coexist. He is a keen observer of nature but interprets it using his own unique “stylized realism,” layering patterns and geometric shapes to create visual roadmaps for the viewer. In this example, the clouds are created of vast domed curves, echoing the shape of horns on the floating skull, as well as the ridges in the mesa.