This passion continued “really, until the end of her life,” says George Wachter, co-chairman of old master paintings worldwide at Sotheby’s.

He recalls when a pair of sculptures went to auction in Paris last year, Hester had already been diagnosed with cancer. “I discovered she was the underbidder for them in Paris, for $1.9 million,” Wachter says, meaning that she’d bid for them at auction but didn’t win. She had submitted the bids while in a treatment facility in Germany.

“She was three to four months from dying, but she had a hunger—she was fearless. She had never seen these sculptures, but she loved them and decided on her own, unprompted, to buy them.”

Bernini Sculpture
Now, buyers around the world will have a chance to sample a bit of Hester Diamond’s taste for themselves.

The lead lot of the sale is Autumn, a sculpture by baroque artists Pietro and Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Estimated to draw from $8 million to $12 million, the work is “jaw-dropping,” Wachter says. “I don’t think there are many [sculptures by Bernini] in America altogether. There’s one at the Met, one at the Getty—but not many, and certainly not one that’s secular like this. It’s an amazing thing to have.”

Other major works include a triptych by the Flemish master Pieter Coecke van Aelst from about 1520, which carries an estimate of $2.5 million to $3.5 million, and two large paintings by Italian Renaissance painter Dosso Dossi, which had been painted for Alfonso I, duke of Ferrara, in the early 1500s. Those carry an estimate of $3 million to $5 million.

There is also a series of contemporary artworks, including a video installation by artist Bill Viola called Ablutions (estimate: $70,000 to $100,000) and a sculpture by contemporary artist Dustin Yellin.

Apart from a massive collection of art books, “at a certain point, she also got absolutely riveted by minerals,” Wachter says. “These rocks are really colorful, and she has about 100 of them. And some of them are relatively valuable; we’re going to have about 10 of them in the live sale.”

Also included in the sale is a selection of Beastie Boys memorabilia from her collection. “It’s just trying to capture her vibe—what she loved and cared about,” says Wachter.

A Different Ballgame
Despite the current uncertainty of the art market—such factors as the forthcoming presidential election could impact buyer sentiment—Wachter says he’s confident that the sale will be a success.