The Collection:
Victor & Sally Ganz
The Collection03.20.2025
Victor and Sally Ganz were enterprising collectors who paired their art historical savvy with a willingness to take calculated risks.
In 1941, Victor made his first significant art purchase—Picasso's 'Le Rêve' (1932), a painting of the artist's muse Marie-Thérèse Walter, which he bought for $7,000 from Parisian dealer Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler—a substantial sum at the time. The painting sold at Christie's in 1997 for $48.4 million, later trading privately to Steve Wynn (who famously put his elbow through the painting), who sold it after restoration for $155 million to Steve Cohen in 2013.
Victor's daring approach became more evident in 1956, when he approached Kahnweiler again, proposing to acquire Picasso's entire 'Femmes d'Alger' series (1954–55). Kahnweiler accepted the offer of $212,500 for all 15 works. Victor later sold 10 pieces to dealers for $138,000, offsetting much of his investment while retaining the five most exceptional works. The couple amassed the most significant private holdings of Picasso in the U.S., becoming top lenders to MoMA's 1980 retrospective.
By the 1960s, when Picasso became too expensive, they expanded their vision to include post-war artists like Rauschenberg, Johns, Stella, and Hesse. Their Upper East Side home at 10 Gracie Square showcased this collection, creating an environment of extraordinary artistic depth.
