NEW YORK, NY.- Christie’s announced Ivan & Genevieve Reitman: A Life in Pictures, a vibrant and joyful art collection that will be offered during the Marquee Week of Sales this November, led by Picasso’s portrait of Marie-Thérèse Walter, Femme endormie. The collection comes to Christie’s New York from the California home of Ivan Reitman, the legendary filmmaker behind iconic movies from the 20th century that enraptured audiences across the globe —including Ghostbusters, Dave, Kindergarten Cop, Animal House, Space Jam, Old School, and dozens more. A director, producer, and storyteller to his core, Ivan Reitman spent his life celebrating the magic of creativity in all its forms. Insightful and inventive, Reitman seamlessly coalesced his love for filmmaking and visual art, creating a comprehensive and cohesive collection that evoked the same optimism and joy of his movies.
Ten works from Reitman’s art collection will be sold as a dedicated group of highlights in the 20th Century Evening Sale taking place on November 9, 2023. The selection is foregrounded by top lot, Picasso’s Femme endormie, a brilliant and colorful portrait of Marie-Thérèse Walter, which was with the Picasso family for nearly sixty years before its acquisition in 1993 and is expected to achieve $25 million – 35 million. This October, Femme endormie will make its debut appearance in Asia at Christie’s Hong Kong. The additional nine works come from giants of the European avant-garde, Abstract Expressionism, and contemporary classics—with examples by Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning, Jean Dubuffet, Loie Hollowell, Brice Marden, Richard Diebenkorn, Agnes Martin, Joan Snyder, and Saul Steinberg. Additional works will being sold across the week’s Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale and future sales. In total, the collection is expected to achieve in excess of $60 million.
Jason Reitman remarks, “Growing up as a Reitman was growing up around magic. I got to watch one of the great storytellers make movies and make people laugh.”
Catherine Reitman remarks: “My father had so much hope and his films were positive and optimistic, and I think his art was the same way.”
Bonnie Brennan, President of Christie’s Americas, remarks: “The movies Ivan Reitman created have brought laughter to the lives of millions. This joy and delight is palpable in the fantastic art collection he and his wife assembled and lived with over the course of nearly 40 years. We are so pleased to showcase such a dynamic ensemble of artworks at Christie’s this November as highlights in our Marquee Week of Sales.”
Along with his wife Genevieve, Reitman amassed a truly exceptional art collection over the course of four decades with a range of works that tell the story of abstraction’s evolution throughout the 20th century and the subsequent responses by figurative artists. The couple lived with the art in their spectacular Montecito, California home, which they worked with the legendary architect Robert A.M. Stern to design. The house served as the perfect setting for their collection. From the outdoor sculpture by Jean Dubuffet on the grounds, to the 1934 Picasso–a true masterwork from the icon’s oeuvre hanging on the walls of their living room—the cheerful and optimistic collection inspired and delighted them daily.
Max Carter, Christie’s Vice Chairman of 20th and 21st Century Art, remarks, “1934 was among the most fraught years of Picasso's life. His wife, Olga, refused to divorce him; the Great Depression was in its fifth year; political turmoil engulfed France; and his native Spain, which he would visit for the final time that August, teetered on the brink of civil war. Picasso painted less—there are fewer than 45 recorded oils from 1934 and in 1935 he gave up painting altogether—and his imagery was dark and brooding. But on one glorious day in July, he produced three radiant visions of Marie-Thérèse Walter. One portrait is in the Hirshhorn, one is in the Portland Museum of Art and the third, which the artist kept for himself and has been exhibited publicly only once, in 1998, is the Reitman Picasso. In its dazzling color, magical forms and tender repose, this deeply personal image was and remains an oasis.”
Johanna Flaum, Christie’s Vice Chairman of 20th and 21st Century Art, remarks: “Ivan Reitman was the ultimate creative. He continually pursued the magic of creation - in all forms - through film, art, and architecture, which could be seen in the beautiful home created partnership with his wife Genevieve and architect Robert A.M. Stern, creating the perfect setting for his collection. From Picasso's colorful dreamscape to the brightness and levity in the post-war abstraction to the nods of humor punctuated throughout, his art reflects the very same sense of optimism and joy as his filmography. A cinematic legend, Reitman has informed our collective living memory. He has made an impact on society that is absolutely pervasive - not only do his films evoke a sense of nostalgia for those who grew up watching them, but they are still very much relevant, influencing our culture of today. We look forward to bringing his collection to Christie's galleries, allowing for his art collection to resonate with audiences around the world in the same way so many of his films have done in the past.”
Ivan and Genevieve’s collecting journey began when Reitman asked the art dealer Arne Glimcher to help him bring some authenticity to Legal Eagles, a 1986 romantic comedy thriller starring Robert Redford, Debra Winger and Daryl Hannah and set in the New York art world. Glimcher recommended using original paintings and sculptures borrowed from galleries and private collectors in New York and Los Angeles. During this process, Reitman fell in love with art. He and Genevieve embarked on their collection soon afterwards and continued until the couple acquired their last piece together in 2021.
Born in Komárno, Slovakia in 1946, Reitman was raised by his mother, an Auschwitz survivor, and his father, who was part of the Czechoslovak resistance. To escape the post-war communist regime, the family went first to Vienna and eventually settled in Toronto in 1950. In the 1960s, Reitman enrolled at McMaster University in Ontario, initially to study music composition. After joining the student film club, his passion for storytelling and the magic of moviemaking was ignited, and his life was changed forever. From the late 1970s through the early 80s, he developed hit after hit, from National Lampoon’s Animal House to Meatballs to Stripes, culminating with Ghostbusters in 1984—an instant a classic and immediate phenomenon. Always looking to give back, Ivan and Genevieve founded the Reitman Foundation just two years after Ghostbusters was released, parlaying their success into an initiative that generously provided grants to museums, theaters and other arts organizations. Today, Reitman has stars on both Hollywood’s and Canada’s Walk of Fame. The impact he has had on the development of comedy and the entertainment industry at large is unmatched. With blockbuster films that defined an era, Reitman leaves behind a lasting legacy, and continues to delight and inspire cinematographers and moviegoers alike worldwide. On October 4, highlights from Ivan & Genevieve Reitman: A Life in Pictures will make their debut at Christie’s Hong Kong before touring to Los Angeles on October 16 and Paris on October 17. The full art collection will be on view at Christie’s New York Rockefeller Center galleries beginning October 28.
