"Over the past two decades, the billionaire entrepreneur Thomas S. Kaplan and his wife Daphne Recanati Kaplan have amassed around 220 works of 17th-century Dutch art that they call the Leiden Collection. Now they are ready to part with one of their earliest acquisitions: Rembrandt's life-like drawing Young Lion Resting (around 1638-42). Today (3 November) Sotheby's announced that the work will be offered at an auction during its Old Masters sales in New York on 4 February 2026, with a pre-sale estimate of $15m to $20m."
"The Kaplans acquired the drawing in 2005, Thomas says, through the twin brothers John and Paul Herring, private New York dealers whose clients also included the New York collectors Ronald Lauder and his brother Leonard Lauder. Several years ago, according to Kaplan, ownership of the Rembrandt drawing came to include Jonathan Ayers, a Florida philanthropist who serves as chairman of the board of Panthera, a New York-based conservation organisation devoted to preserving the world's wild-cat species. The Kaplans divide their time between New York and Paris."
"Proceeds from the Sotheby's sale will go to Panthera, according to Kaplan, who adds that he and Ayers have chosen to sell the work now in part to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Kaplans' founding of the organisation back in 2006. Kaplan expects the publicity of the sale itself to help promote Panthera's mission. "It's going to be one of the most expensive drawings ever," he says. "That attracts people's attention.""
Thomas S. Kaplan and his wife Daphne Recanati Kaplan have assembled around 220 works of 17th-century Dutch art called the Leiden Collection over two decades. They will offer Rembrandt's life-like drawing Young Lion Resting (c.1638–42) at Sotheby's Old Masters sale in New York on 4 February 2026, with a pre-sale estimate of $15m–$20m. The Kaplans acquired the drawing in 2005 via dealers John and Paul Herring; later ownership included Jonathan Ayers, a Florida philanthropist and chairman of Panthera. Proceeds from the Sotheby's sale will go to Panthera to mark the Kaplans' 20th anniversary of founding the organisation. Sotheby's Gregory Rubenstein describes the drawing as a rare, important Rembrandt work likely to attract private and institutional buyers.
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