Pollock and Brancusi, estimated at $100M each, power Christie's spring auctions

Christie's spring 20th and 21st century art sales kick off on Monday, May 18, with more than 750 works spanning modern and contemporary art.

The top lots are Jackson Pollock's explosive Number 7A, 1948 and Constantin Brancusi's modernist sculpture Danaide, each estimated in the region of $100 million.

Both come from the private collection of S.I. Newhouse, the late Condé Nast owner. Christie's says the 16-work group carries an aggregate low estimate of $450 million.

"It is by far the most significant collection that will be offered this season and perhaps this year," said Christie's global chairman of 20th and 21st century art, Max Carter.

Brancusi's Danaide, from 1913, is being billed as one of the most important sculptures Christie's has offered, representing what Carter called the beginning of modern sculpture.

Pollock's Number 7A, 1948 spans 11 feet and comes from a period when the artist "re-invented easel painting and essentially opened the door for artists for the next 50 years."

Other highlights include works by Roy Lichtenstein, Pablo Picasso, Mark Rothko, Cy Twombly and Gerhard Richter.

Despite volatility in global markets and world events, Christie's said it is entering the season with "great optimism," after what it called one of the strongest first quarters in the company's history.

Christie’s New York spring art sales run through May 21.

-Production:Hussein Al Waaile, Christine Kiernan/Reuters