Christie's is preparing to disperse a large slice of Mickey Cartin's collection in a rolling programme of sales rather than a single evening event. More than 80 objects, carrying a combined estimate of up to $8 million, will appear in over 10 auctions in New York, London and Paris, beginning in November 2026 and continuing through July 2027.

Cartin, now 78, began collecting in 1988, years after joining the Connecticut electrical supply company founded by his grandfather. He went on to lead that business as it grew from a dozen staff to a national operation employing hundreds. His homes in Connecticut, in Delray Beach in Florida and in a 5,800-square-foot Greenwich Village apartment have all displayed the collection, and the Manhattan loft is itself on the market for $10 million. Cartin appeared on the ARTnews Top 200 Collectors list from 2007 to 2013, and his longtime curator, Steven Holmes, oversaw how the works were arranged in the loft.

What distinguishes the group is its refusal to stay within one period, medium or price band. A minimalist painting by Agnes Martin could hang near a 16th-century Madonna, while a psychedelic resin work by Fred Tomaselli might sit close to older material. Among the named highlights are a self-portrait by Giorgio de Chirico estimated at $180,000 to $250,000, a canvas by Roman Opalka estimated at $400,000 to $600,000, and a Renaissance manual on eye surgery, alongside work by the Master of the Virgo inter Virgines. The range suggests a collector following curiosity rather than a market category.

Holmes has described two habits behind the collection: an appetite for striking ideas even in unfamiliar artists, and a tendency to pursue an idea in depth once it catches Cartin's attention. That approach explains both the breadth of the dispersal and its fragmentation across so many sales. Instead of one curated showcase, buyers will encounter the collection in pieces, sale by sale, which mirrors how it was assembled in the first place: object by object, over nearly four decades.