10 April 2025 | Paris | full auction details

A key figure in Brazilian avant-garde, Niomar Moniz Sodré Bittencourt dedicated her life to defending modern art and freedom of expression. An engaged journalist, enlightened collector, and founder of the Museum of Modern Art of Rio (MAM), she succeeded in imposing her audacious vision despite the political and cultural resistance inherited from the troubled period of the Brazilian military dictatorship that followed the 1964 coup d'état.

Close to the greatest artists of her time – Alberto Giacometti, Pierre Soulages, Nicolas de Staël, Maria Martins, Alexander Calder, Maria Vieira da Silva – Niomar Moniz Sodré Bittencourt built an exceptional collection, honoring both major figures of the Brazilian art scene and internationally renowned names, thus affirming her fight for the recognition of artistic modernity in all its forms. The works Sotheby's has the honor to present in this sale are the last testimonies of this unwavering passion, a precious legacy of her commitment to art and modernity.