The Collection of Joanne B. Breyer

12/04/2024 Jewelry, General, Modern & Contemporary Art, General Paintings, English & Continental Furniture & Decorations

NEW YORK, NY -- Doyle is honored to auction the Collection of Joanne B. Breyer in select upcoming auctions. A woman of refined taste, Mrs. Breyer was celebrated for her wit, vibrant personality and joie de vivre. She had a passion for good food and was known for her gracious hospitality. She also had a deep love for animals and supported numerous animal welfare causes, including the Animal Medical Center in New York.

The former Joanne Braatz was educated at The Spence School in Manhattan and later at Mount Vernon Junior College, a private women's institution in Washington, DC. In 1960, she married Henry William Breyer, III, grandson of the founder of Breyers Ice Cream of Philadelphia. Mr. Breyer attended The Haverford School and graduated from the University of Virginia, later serving in the U.S. Coast Guard. An avid fisherman all of his life, he owned Tycoon Fin-Nor, a Miami-based company renowned for its quality fishing tackle that The Miami News hailed as “the Rolls-Royce of the fishing tackle industry.”

During their marriage of almost sixty years, the couple divided their time between New York, East Hampton, Palm Beach and Newport. They were members of numerous clubs, including the Everglades Club, Bath & Tennis Club and Sailfish Club of Florida in Palm Beach; the Maidstone Club in East Hampton; the Devon Yacht Club in Amagansett; the New York Yacht Club and Colony Club in New York; and the Spouting Rock Beach Association and Clambake Club in Newport.

Jewelry
Jewelry from the Collection of Joanne B. Breyer in the December 12 Important Jewelry auction features an impressive Bulgari 15.76 carat emerald-cut diamond ring, a dazzling 21.27 carat Fancy Intense Yellow diamond ring, and exceptional jewelry by Harry Winston, Van Cleef & Arpels, Verdura and Seaman Schepps. Additional jewelry from the Collection will be offered in the sales of Fine Jewelry & Luxury Handbags on December 11 and Jewelry Online on December 17, as well as other upcoming auctions.

Furniture & Decorative Arts
The Joanne B. Breyer Collection of English and Continental furniture, decorations, silver and artwork will be auctioned on December 10. Collectors will be delighted by the numerous pieces with whimsical animal themes reflecting Mrs. Breyer’s interest in animals and the natural world.

Important Paintings
Important paintings from the Joanne B. Breyer Collection will be auctioned in Spring 2025. An astute collector in her own right, Mrs. Breyer also inherited many pieces from her mother-in-law, Margaret Breyer. The wife of Henry W. Breyer, Jr., Margaret Breyer served on the American Art Committee of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and donated many fine paintings to the institution. Assembled over many decades by two sophisticated collectors, this remarkable collection features exceptional works by Childe Hassam, Hobson Pittman, Francis Speight, Martha Walter, Edwin Lord Weeks, Bob Frederick Kuhn and Colin Campbell Cooper, among many others.

Upcoming Auctions

Childe Hassam (1859-1935)
Summer Day, 1890 (also known as Dunes near the Sea)
Signed and dated, Oil on canvas, 15 x 18 inches
Provenance: Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, Nov. 13, 1957
Est. $150,000-250,000 | Auction Spring 2025