Ross Collection Goes to Auction

Herbert and Nora Kaye Ross’ eclectic collection--containing everything from blue chip artists’ prints to ceramic cheese keepers and silver snuffboxes--will go on the auction block at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at Butterfield & Butterfield’s new Los Angeles facility.

Among pieces being offered, David Hockney’s “Piscine Avec Trois Bleus,” a painting of a swimming pool (made by applying dyes to handmade paper), is expected to bring between $200,000 and $300,000, the sale’s top price. Prints by Hockney and Frank Stella and an assemblage by Joseph Cornell are each valued in the five-figure range. A German Biedermeier desk with mother-of-pearl inlays and gilded statuary is expected to bring up to $70,000.

The auction of 928 lots will begin on Monday with 140 pieces of fine art, followed by decorative, Oriental and tribal objects. Tuesday’s sale features icons, more furniture and decorative arts, plus rugs and carpets. Antiquities, pottery, silver and photograph frames are among items scheduled for sale on Wednesday.

The couple displayed their collection in their Los Angeles home. Recognized as the greatest dramatic ballerina of her generation, Nora Kaye, died in 1987. She was a founding member of American Ballet Theatre. Director Herbert Ross, whose credits include “Funny Girl” and “The Turning Point,” married Lee Radziwill last September.

Butterfield & Butterfield is at 7601 Sunset Blvd. Information: (213) 850-7500.