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Two major spring sales are headlining the Rago/Wright calendar this month. First on Thursday, May 14, 2026, Pure Edge: American Geometric Abstraction, Selected Works from the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Buenos Aires is comprised of a cohesive selection of 19 works from the prestigious institution, which boasts a premier collection of American geometric abstraction. Immediately following is the Post War and Contemporary Art sale, bringing together an impressive range of 20th- and 21st-century art, illuminating some of the most significant and pioneering movements of the periods.
“These dual offerings underscore Rago/Wright’s expanding leadership in presenting important postwar painting and sculpture,” says Fine Art Director Meredith Hilferty. “We’re deeply proud to bring works of this caliber to market.”
Here, we take a closer look at some of the sales’ top lots.
Sam Gilliam, Sun Woman (1970)
Sam Gilliam, Sun Woman (1970). Est. $300,000–$500,000. Courtesy of Rago/Wright.
A crowning jewel amongst the sale’s selection of paintings and works on paper, Sun Woman (1970) is exemplary of American artist Sam Gilliam’s (1933–2022) iconic “Drape” paintings. Associated early on with the Washington Color School and Hard-edge abstraction, in the latter half of the 1960s Gilliam experimented with leaving his paintings unstretched. The results were compositions—often featuring heavily saturated pigment in the tradition of Helen Frankenthaler’s soak technique—that could be arranged and suspended in myriad ways, incorporating an element of chance and allowing the works to respond to the spaces they are installed in.
Annie Morris, Stack 7 (Ultramarine Blue) (2015)
Annie Morris, Stack 7 (Ultramarine Blue) (2015). Est.$150,000–$200,000. Courtesy of Rago/Wright.
A highlight of the sculpture works included in the sale, Annie Morris’s (b. 1978) chromatic Stack 7 (Ultramarine Blue) (2015) reflects the recurring themes of the British artist’s overarching practice, including balance, fragility, and the nuanced relationship between color and emotion. Morris first began her “Stack” sculptures in 2014, and garnered widespread critical attention for their simultaneous precarity and monumentality. Produced in a variety of materials, like plaster, sand, pigment, concrete, and steel, the application of vivid pigments transforms them into totemic studies on the relationship between form, space, and the expressive potential of color.
Miyoko Ito, Adam and Eve (1957)
Miyoko Ito, Adam and Eve (1957). Est. $200,000–$300,000. Courtesy of Rago/Wright.
Drawing from the creative vernacular of Cubism and Surrealism, and incorporating her own personal iconography, American painter Miyoko Ito (1918–1983) developed a distinctive visual language that pushed the boundaries of abstractions. Based in Chicago for the majority of her life and career, she was peripherally connected with the Chicago Imagists, but her unique style makes her oeuvre stand apart. While Ito earned limited recognition during her lifetime, since her passing she has accrued growing interest and acclaim, and her work has been acquired by numerous major museum collections, including the Art Institute of Chicago; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C., just to name a few.
Maria Martins, Impossible (1946)
Maria Martins, Impossible (1946). Est. $150,000–$200,000. Courtesy of Rago/Wright.
A key figure within the Surrealism movement of the 1940s, Brazilian artist Maria Martins (1894–1973) is best known for her biomorphic forms that synthesize elements of Surrealism with imagery and mythologies tied to the Amazon. Impossible (1946) is a crucial work from the artist’s New York period—where she connected with European artists in exile like André Breton and Marcel Duchamp—and speaks to her ongoing interest in ideas around transformation and nature. The present example is reflective of her mature style and is understood to be the earliest of three known examples—signaling its importance within both her own oeuvre but the history of Surrealist sculpture overall.
Amoako Boafo, Girl in Yellow (2019)
Amoako Boafo, Girl in Yellow (2019). Est. $80,000–$120,000. Courtesy of Rago/Wright.
Ghanian painter Amoako Boafo (b. 1984) catapulted to fame in in 2019 following a residency at the Rubell Museum, Miami, and headlining feature at Art Basel Miami Beach. In 2020, he undertook a high-profile collaboration with Dior, and his name became at the forefront of artists to watch. Predominantly executing portraits of Black figures, Boafo is best known for his use of vibrant, monochromatic backgrounds and his finger-painting technique for rendering his sitter’s skin, adding a unique, expressive quality to his subjects. Engaging with themes and ideas around the African diaspora, agency, and emotional range, Boafo’s work has already been acquired by major collections like the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art among others.
Magdalena Abakanowicz, Small Figure with Polygon (1993)
Magdalena Abakanowicz, Small Figure with Polygon (1993). Est. $70,000–$90,000. Courtesy of Rago/Wright.
Pioneering Polish sculptor and fiber artist Magdalena Abakanowicz (1930–2017) was a pivotal figure in the development of 20th-century installation and textile-based art who challenged convention and forged a personal three-dimensional visual language. Growing up during the Nazi occupation of Poland, after the war she studied art in Warsaw where Socialist Realism was the prevailing trend. While she moved away from traditional painting in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the 1970s she began engaging with figurative sculpture, which led to the creation of some of her most celebrated works. Dating from later in her career, Small Figure with Polygon (1993) highlights her distinctive engagement with form, space, and material.
The Rago/Wright Post War & Contemporary Art sale will be held Thursday, May 14, 2026, at 11 a.m. EST.
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