A Rare $20 Million Rembrandt Is Being Sold at Auction - for a Remarkable Reason

""Collecting, to me, has always been about passion," he exclusively tells Elite Traveler. "I fell in love with Rembrandt when I was six years old. That intense feeling has stayed with me my whole life." When he and his wife Daphne acquired the piece in 2005, it marked a personal beginning. It was the first Rembrandt they ever owned - the foundation stone of what would become The Leiden Collection, now comprising 17 paintings by the master"

""It doesn't take a genius to collect Rembrandt," Kaplan says with characteristic humility. "It takes a genius to be Rembrandt." Upon seeing Young Lion Resting for the very first time, he was "mesmerized by the cat's eyes," before noticing the bold, expressive strokes. "Rembrandt had a singular ability to capture the soul of his sitters," he says. "Here, he saw this lion, brought to Amsterdam as a novelty, as a sentient, noble being - not just a curiosity.""

Young Lion Resting by Rembrandt is estimated to sell for approximately $20 million at Sotheby's New York on February 4, 2026. Thomas Kaplan and his wife Daphne acquired the drawing in 2005 as their first Rembrandt, forming the foundation of The Leiden Collection, which now comprises 17 Rembrandt paintings. Kaplan describes collecting as driven by lifelong passion and was struck by the lion's eyes and Rembrandt's bold, expressive strokes. Kaplan emphasizes Rembrandt's ability to capture the sitter's soul, portraying the lion as a sentient, noble being. The Leiden Collection operates as a lending library promoting public access, scholarly research, and cultural exchange.

Read at Elite Traveler