Public School Curates at Sotheby’s

Sotheby's Prints auction features more than 390 iconic and rare works from creative legends Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and Andy Warhol, to name a few. The Public School have curated a portion of the pre-sale exhibition.

NEW YORK – Known for their streetwise sensibility, Public School co-founders Maxwell Osborne and Dao-Yi Chow have quickly become the go-to label for all the style-conscious cool kids. Their minimal, clean-lined and predominantly monochromatic but never one-note basics have also garnered accolades from the fashion establishment, earning them two Council of Fashion Designers of America awards. Shortly thereafter the duo was tapped to be creative directors of DKNY, the younger line in the Donna Karan empire. All the while Chow and Osborne have expanded the reach of their own label, debuting a women’s wear collection in 2014 to critical praise. Now they can add curator to their growing resumes — the pair will select works from the upcoming Prints and Multiples sale at Sotheby’s New York on 23–24 November for a special exhibition that will occupy the fourth-floor galleries. “We want to treat the space differently than what everyone who goes to Sotheby’s expects,” says Osborne.

“They’re wonderful to work with,” says Mary Bartow, head of the Sotheby’s Prints department. “We thought it would be interesting to have the perspective of someone linked to the art world but not part of the auction world.” Growing up in New York City, Chow and Osborne were constantly surrounded by art, both on the streets and in museums. “Being inspired by art wasn’t something we tried to do,” says Chow. “It was just a natural progression.”