This season, Sotheby’s has the privilege of offering another outstanding work by Kerry James Marshall: Untitled (Self-Portrait) Supermodel from 1994 (estimate $800,000/1.2 million). Projecting serenity and confidence, the piercing eyes of the sitter in  the captivating work on paper blaze with a quiet focus, belying the art-historical, psychological and political gravity anchoring the composition. Using the archetypal figure of the supermodel, Marshall engages other archetypes to propose broader questions about the foundations of beauty in culture: the figure has flowing, spectral hair that falls in waves, contrasting their rich charcoal skin tone. This semi-translucent hirsute layer partially conceals the silhouette of Marshall’s head underneath, while hinting at the contours of an Afro, parting to highlight the elegant cheekbones and pointed chin of the artist’s feminized appearance. Underneath Marshall’s face, a field of white paint has the names “Kate,” “Kathy,” Cindy,” and “Linda,” incised into its surface, calling out the leading supermodels, so omnipresent in the time the work was executed that they were identifiable through mononyms.

Featured alongside the Contemporary Curated exhibition, RIMOWA will unveil its first historical retrospective from the brand’s burgeoning archive. Sharing the iconic German luggage company’s distinctive 121-year contribution to the material culture of travel, the show features dozens of never before seen historic luggage pieces dating back over a century, many of which have until now been left unseen in private collections around the globe.

Each piece acts as an ambassador for the eras of travel and various modes of transport that have defined the twentieth-century and carried the brand into the present day. From heritage steamer trunks and specialized instrument cases to iconic grooved aluminum luggage inspired by the fuselage of classic aircraft and contemporary designs conceived of in collaboration with the likes of Off-White and Supreme. Decades of travel tools come together to trace the evolution of one of the world’s most iconic luggage manufacturers.

Pioneers of engineering for over a century, RIMOWA has always been and continues to be a forward thinker, ever at the forefront of luggage and travel innovation.