Brazil’s modern art champion and fearless voice for cultural freedom, Niomar Moniz Sodre Bittencourt, has made history with a record-breaking sale at Sotheby’s Paris auction house.
A landmark auction in Paris celebrated Brazil‘s modern art champion and fearless voice for cultural freedom.
Niomar Moniz Sodré Bittencourt was a woman of spirit and resistance who played a critical role in the growth of the Brazilian art scene. With minimal resources but unrelenting resolve, she founded the Museu de Arte Moderna in Rio de Janeiro in 1955—Brazil’s first institution dedicated to contemporary art—staking a claim for cultural freedom at a time when it was most fragile.
A Visionary Collector and Journalist
As a committed supporter of her contemporaries, Niomar Moniz Sodré Bittencourt often acquired works straight from the studio. This was the case with ‘Nicolas de Staël’s Étude pour le Parc des Princes,’ a sensuous and seemingly abstract composition painted in 1952 and characterized by thick, textured brushstrokes organized in clusters suggesting primordial figures or traces. The painting sold for nearly double its high estimate, hammering for €889,000 over the expected €300,000-500,000 range.
A Legacy of Resistance
Niomar Moniz Sodré Bittencourt‘s relentless fight for cultural freedom was close to many of the greatest artists of her time. Her collection reflected not just aesthetic acumen but a deep commitment to a vision of modernity that defied pre-established systems and values. More than a discerning art collector, she was also a fearless journalist whose battles stretched far beyond the gallery walls.
A Trailblazer for Press Freedom
After the 1964 coup d’état ushered in two decades of military dictatorship in Brazil, Moniz Sodré Bittencourt took a frontline stance against authoritarianism as director of ‘Correio da Manhã,’ one of the country’s most influential newspapers. She defended dissent and freedom of speech with unflinching clarity, even as the paper became a target of violent repression—bombed, threatened and surveilled. Her refusal to yield cost her dearly: she was imprisoned and ultimately exiled to Paris, where she continued her fight for press freedom and cultural sovereignty.
A Lasting Legacy
One of her most enduring legacies remains the founding of the Museu de Arte Moderna (MAM). In defiance of the Church, the government and a conservative Brazilian elite that viewed contemporary art as inaccessible or subversive, she forged ahead. With the backing of ‘nelson rockefeller,’ then director of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and close allies like Marcel Duchamp and Maria Martins, she secured international support. MAM officially opened its doors on January 27, 1958, housed in a modernist building designed by Affonso Eduardo Reidy and launching with a collection that spanned both Western and Brazilian masters.
Nelson Rockefeller was an American businessman, politician, and philanthropist.
Born on July 8, 1908, in Bar Harbor, Maine, he served as the 41st Vice President of the United States from 1974 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford.
Rockefeller's career spanned over four decades, with notable roles including Governor of New York from 1959 to 1973 and Chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations.
He was also a key figure in shaping US foreign policy during the Cold War era.
A Collection of International Significance
Moniz Sodré Bittencourt‘s collection was a standout of Paris’ spring auction season, which brought in a combined $100 million across the three major houses. The sale featured works by Japanese pioneering artist Tetsumi Kudo, who has been recently subject to rediscovery encouraged by a show at Hauser & Wirth. One of his signature paradoxical caged assemblages, ‘Love Story,’ sold for €69,850.
Tetsumi Kudo was a Japanese artist known for his thought-provoking environmental art.
Born in 1935, Kudo's work often explored the relationship between nature and human society.
His sculptures and installations frequently incorporated found materials, highlighting the impact of human activity on the environment.
A pioneer of eco-art, Kudo's pieces were often site-specific, responding to the natural surroundings.
His work has been exhibited globally, leaving a lasting legacy in the art world.
The surviving masterpieces that appeared at Sotheby’s this April stand as final witnesses to the richness of her vision and her tireless fight to carve out space for modernity, freedom and cultural resistance.
