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The Last Surrealist: Artist Enrico Donati’s Collection Heads to Auction

The deeply personal trove shaped by friendships with Surrealism’s leading figures will lead Sotheby’s May sales with an estimate of $50-80 million.

The record-breaking £73 million Karpidas sale in London last fall was proof positive that the Surrealism craze is still going strong. Now, one of the top consignments headlining Sotheby's May marquee week is the collection of Milan-born artist Enrico Donati, “the last Surrealist.” Among the most significant single-owner collections of the season, his trove is expected to generate $50-80 million—a valuation partially buoyed by the story of a fascinating figure almost inseparable from the movement itself.

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Donati’s path into art was notably circuitous. After studying economics in Pavia and music in Milan, he turned to painting later in life, a decision that first took him to Paris and, following the outbreak of war, to New York. There, he entered Surrealist circles, forming close relationships with leading émigré artists of the era, including André Breton, Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst and Yves Tanguy. His art collection emerged from these relationships, resulting in a remarkable group of masterworks acquired directly from the artists. Many have rarely been seen or exhibited, as Donati’s........

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