Works by female Old Masters on exhibit and auction

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NY) - A new art exhibit at Sotheby's this week highlights pioneering women who chipped away at the glass ceiling of the European art world from the 16th to the 19th centuries. The genre is known as Old Masters.

"Old Masters covers paintings by artists working from the Renaissance through the early 19th century in Western Europe," said Calvine Harvey, Sotheby's old master paintings specialist.

Harvey created this exhibit in response to an increased interest in works created by female artists.

"We've been hearing a lot from museums and private collectors alike that they want to diversify their collection," Harvey said. "They're looking for paintings by female Old Masters."

The collection features 21 pieces of artwork by 14 artists. All will be up for auction with opening bids ranging from $6,000 to $4 million, the price for a portrait of Muhammad Dervish Khan by artist Elisabeth-Louis Vigee le Brun.

In 2018, Sotheby's sold more than 1,100 paintings by male Old Masters, but just 14 by women. There were far fewer female artists in the pre-modern era due to a variety of barriers.

"This was not a time period when women were at the forefront or really hadn't had any rights at all in terms of working outside the home or establishing themselves as artists."

Fede Galizia is known as a revolutionary female artist in the Italian still life genre. Her piece is expected to fetch at least $2 million.

Angelika Kauffman was highly sought after as a portrait artist by members of the royal family. Her "Portrait of Three children" piece has a starting bid of $600,000.

The three-day auction begins Wednesday, Jan. 30.