NEW YORK, NY.- Christie's announced Lasting Impression: The Collection of Marilyn Arison, a richly textured selection of rare and important works by Edouard Manet, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Pierre Bonnard and others from the collection of Mrs. Marilyn Arison, generous philanthropist and tireless champion of the arts. The collection will be featured during New York Spring Marquee Week with works in the 20th Century Evening Sale and the Day Sales, and subsequent auctions taking place throughout the year.

Manet's Pivoines dans une bouteille from 1864 leads the group. Painted the year following Manet's masterpieces Le déjeuner sur l'herbe (1862-1863) and Olympia (1863) in the Musee d'Orsay collection, the work depicts the artist's favorite flower, the peony, with outstandingly modern technique. The painting belongs to a series of six known canvases from the 1860s featuring the flower, and this work is the only example remaining in private hands, with all others held between the Musée d'Orsay and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Additional featured highlights come from early and mid-twentieth century masters Picasso, Matisse and Bonnard, icons whose practices were all in some way influenced by the great legacy of Manet, weaving threads of mentorship, friendship and human connection through this exquisite and varied collection.

Sarah Arison, President of Arison Arts Foundation, remarks: “Growing up with my grandparents I was lucky enough to be surrounded by great art and artists whose creativity knew no bounds, and that has had such an immense impact on the trajectory of my life. My grandmother championed creativity in all its forms and her pursuit to amplify the importance of the arts nationwide was nothing short of inspiring. I feel so lucky to have shared in that aspect of her life as both a child and an adult and I couldn't be prouder to carry on her legacy with Arison Arts Foundation, YoungArts and New World Symphony.”

Max Carter, Christie's Global Chairman of 20th and 21st Century Art, remarks: “In the first half of the 1860s, Manet produced some of the 19th century's most important and beautiful works of art, not least the series of six peony still lifes which, his biographer Beth Archer Brombert once wrote, 'rival any flower still life ever done.' We are very honored to offer the last of the six in private hands this May at Christie's, and to celebrate the wonderfully personal writing and collection of Marilyn Arison, whose sympathy for the struggles of the artists she collected informed and inspired her philanthropy.”

A storied collector and benevolent patron, Mrs. Arison's lifelong love of art was apparent through her academic writing, her thoughtful approach to collecting and her meaningful work in the nonprofit sector. Her first introduction to art was in her childhood on a grade school field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where she happened upon a work by Jacques-Louis David. This chance encounter with a Neoclassical masterpiece proved to be a formative moment, igniting an endless passion in the arts that would endure for a lifetime. In 1981, alongside her husband Ted, Mrs. Arison founded the National YoungArts Foundation (now YoungArts), an organization dedicated to providing high school artists with funding and resources to pursue their craft. Her compassionate vision extended to all realms of creative pursuits; in 1987 the couple co-founded New World Symphony (NWS), an organization which prepares graduates of music programs for leadership roles around the world. As a result of the incredible impact of these two organizations, decades after their establishment, Mrs. Arison received the National Medal of Arts—the highest honor for art patronage in the United States—awarded to her by President Barack Obama.

Mrs. Arison's profound generosity was matched by her intellectual rigor. Following the death of her husband at the turn of the century, she authored a book about Van Gogh and the Impressionists, chronicling a trip through Europe with her granddaughter Sarah during which she rediscovered the experiential joy in art. While celebrated in the art world globally, Mrs. Arison's influence is particularly felt within her hometown of Miami. For generations, she played an active and vital role in invigorating the city's local creative scene. She has been credited as a formative figure in the reshaping and development of the current vibrant cultural landscape of south Florida.

Highlights from the collection are on a global tour, with works debuting in London and Hong Kong in March and on view in Miami April 8 - 10. An exhibition of the full collection will be on view in New York ahead of the sales in May.