A Tech Millionaire's Cat Obsession Heads to Auction at Bonhams
American businesswoman Sandy Lerner has spent years assembling one of the most extensive private collections of cat-themed art and collectibles in existence. Now Bonhams, the international auction house, is bringing it to market across a series of four sales beginning late September 2026 (ARTnews).
The Sandy Lerner Collection spans centuries, artistic movements, and media, uniting fine art with literature, decorative objects, jewellery, and collectibles — 66 lots in total, all bound by a single feline thread (Bonhams). Bonhams has described it as one of the most significant private collections of cat-related art and collectibles ever assembled (Bonhams).
The sales are split by format. Part I is a live auction of Post War & Contemporary Art, taking place in New York on 30 September 2026 (Bonhams). Part II moves online, running from 22 September to 1 October 2026 (Bonhams). Two further sales round out the series, details for which Bonhams has yet to publish in full.
Lerner is best known as a co-founder of Cisco Systems, the networking technology giant. Her collecting, though, ranges far beyond Silicon Valley. The collection moves across periods and materials — paintings, sculpture, works on paper, decorative arts, jewellery, and literary material — with the cat as the connecting motif across each (Bonhams).
For anyone who has ever lived with a cat and bought a print, a ceramic, or even a postcard because it resembled them, the impulse is recognisable — just scaled up by several orders of magnitude. Lerner's collection takes a common affection and follows it through art history with the focus and budget of someone who built an industry.
What sets the sale apart from a themed novelty auction is the breadth and seriousness of the material. The collection's Post War & Contemporary Art component places it alongside Bonhams' standard marquee-category sales, not in a specialist-curio side room. Cat-themed art has existed for as long as cats have lived alongside people; what is unusual is seeing centuries of it gathered in one place under a single owner's name.
Specific estimates and individual lot highlights have not yet been published by Bonhams. The auction house's full catalogue for Part I, the live New York sale, will be the document to watch for hammer-price expectations — the bid the auctioneer closes on, before buyer's premiums and fees are added.
Collectors, cat enthusiasts, and market watchers will have their first full look when the catalogues open ahead of the September sales.
