Sandy Lerner's Purr-fect Art Collection Heads to Auction

Cisco Systems co-founder Sandy Lerner's remarkable cat art collection is set to go under the hammer this fall. The collection, which spans four decades and may be the largest private collection of feline-themed art in existence, will be sold across four auctions by Bonhams in New York and Massachusetts.

The collection includes over 1,000 lots, with two distinct streams: 'The Sandy Lerner Cat Collection (Parts I and II)' covering cat-related art and collectibles, and 'Ayrshire Farm: The Sandy Lerner Collection' featuring furnishings and decorative arts from her Virginia estate. The first live sale takes place on September 30 in New York.

The sale includes a range of notable items, including a carved lavender jadeite cat and diamond chain necklace estimated at $14,000-$18,000, and a Tiffany & Co. pendant-brooch designed as a textured gold cat mask valued at $8,000-$12,000. Fine art highlights include works by Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita, Diego Giacometti, Henri Matisse, and Andy Warhol.

Lerner has stated that the items are being rehomed to others who will 'care for, cherish, and respect them as icons of human achievement.' The Ayrshire Farm live sale is set to follow on October 28 in Massachusetts.