NEW YORK, NY.- Christie’s presents the second part of the Frances R. Dittmer Collection, dedicated to her primary passion, Works on Paper. Throughout her life, Frannie actively participated in many of the nation's most prestigious arts organizations, including the Aspen Art Museum, the Dia Art Foundation, The Art Institute of Chicago and was especially dedicated to The Drawing Center in New York. The collection of works on paper reflects Frannie’s radiant personality and spirit, and the important relationships that she developed with artists. Significant works by Mark Bradford, Vija Celmins, Marlene Dumas, Roni Horn, Ellsworth Kelly, Willem De Kooning, Sol Lewitt, Brice Marden, Agnes Martin, Albert Oehlen, Richard Prince, Robert Rauschenberg, Edward Ruscha, Robert Ryman, Thomas Schütte, Richard Serra, Rudolf Stingel, Rachel Whiteread and Christopher Wool among others will be sold in the November day sale of Post-War and Contemporary Art.

Laura Paulson, Chairman and International Director for Post-War and Contemporary Art, remarked: “The exquisite selection of works on paper assembled across several decades is an extraordinary journey across surface and material, and several generations of artists. It represents Frannie’s unparalleled passion, connoisseurship and her long-standing love of the medium. This September, we have the honor of launching the Dittmer drawing symposium "Looking Between the Lines, works on paper from The Collection of Francis R. Dittmer" in conjunction with The Drawing Center to coincide with the preview exhibition of the collection at the 20th floor of Christie’s Rockefeller Plaza. We are delighted that Brett Littman, Executive Director of The Drawing Center will moderate the discussion around collecting drawings, both past and present. Joining Brett is Mark Pascale, Janet and Craig Duchossois Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Art Institute of Chicago and Irving Stenn, Jr., a well-known collector of works on paper who recently exhibited his collection, ‘Contemporary drawings from the Irving Stenn Jr. Collection’, at the Art Institute of Chicago.”

Brett Littman, Executive Director of The Drawing Center, added: “When we lost Frannie Dittmer – we lost a great person and patron to the arts. She is what you call in Texas a "straight shooter." She was someone I deeply respected and she was always on the side of great art and ideas. I will cherish our conversations. Her extreme generosity to The Drawing Center over the years as a board member and to me personally will always be remembered.”

Following the success of the first part of the Dittmer collection sold last season, this second part of the collection presents a full range of material and artistic ingenuity within the Post-War and Contemporary canon: ink, watercolor, charcoal, graphite enamel and many other media. Works on paper by artists such as Brice Marden, Mark Bradford, Marlene Dumas, Rudolf Stingel and Roni Horn were placed throughout Frances Dittmer’s modern Aspen residence; true to her infamous sense of humor, she placed Christopher Wool’s 1989 Untitled —where bold capital letters spell ‘TRBL’—in the bar area near her dining room. Reflecting her fascination with the creative and intellectual processes found in works on paper, Frances became a long-time board member and patron of The Drawing Center, an institution that continues to present the work of emerging Contemporary artists in the medium and with whom Christie’s will organize the Dittmer drawing symposium: Looking Between the Lines, on September 30th, ahead of the sale preview.