In the art world’s latest eye-catching event, auction house Christie’s announced on Thursday that it will be selling its impressive art collection. Paul G. AllenMicrosoft co-founder, who died in 2018. The treasure, which includes masterpieces by Renoir and Roy Lichtenstein, is worth an estimated $1 billion.
The sale of more than 150 works of art spanning 500 years – which will take place on an unspecified date in November – will be the largest in auction history. Christie’s said it would give all proceeds to charity, as Allen directed.
“This is a huge event for the art market and the art world,” Guillaume Cerutti, chief executive officer of Christie’s, said in a phone interview. “The fact that it covers five centuries of great art – from Botticelli to David Hockney, plus of course the inspirational figure of Paul Allen, plus the fact that the sale is dedicated to charity – we are truly moved by this extraordinary project. above. It is something very special. “
Despite the continued economic downturn caused by pandemics, wars abroad, and soaring inflation, the art market continues to soar, proving – as it always does – that wealthy collectors Most have remained largely isolated from the turmoil of the world. Market in 2021 generate $65.1 billionaccording to the annual survey published by Art Basel and UBS.
In May, Andy Warhol’s 1964 silk screen of Marilyn Monroe’s face, “Shot Sage Blue Marilyn,” sold for about $195 million to an unspecified buyer at Christie’s in New York, making it the highest price ever achieved for any American artwork at auction.
Earlier this year, a second cache of modern and contemporary works owned by real estate mogul Harry Macklowe and his ex-wife, Linda Macklowe, helped Sotheby’s hit a record sale for a private art collection to be auctioned, $922 million.
In 2018, David and Peggy Rockefeller’s Treasure set a high of $833 million for the most valuable private collection at auction, surpassing the $443 million total (revised in 2013) for the Yves Saint Laurent collection in 2009.
Among the highlights of the Allen estate that will be up for sale are Jasper Johns’ acrylic and paper collage “Small False Start” from 1960, estimated to bring in more than $50 million, and “La” Montagne Sainte-Victoire” by Paul Cézanne (1888-90), estimated at more than $100 million. But there are also some old masters. Further details on exactly which works will be provided were not available.
“This is an extremely focused vision,” said Alex Rotter, president of Christie’s division of 20th and 21st century art, of Allen’s collection. “Landscape and imagery definitely prevail.”
Allen, founder of Microsoft Corp. along with Bill Gates, made an artistic mistake after being captivated by JMW Turner’s romantic seascapes and Lichtenstein’s Pop paintings during a visit to Tate Britain in London.
He pursues his passion for the visual arts with the same passion he brings to music; in 2000, Allen founded the Experiential Music Project – now Museum of popular culture – where he displays items such as guitars owned by Jimi Hendrix in a Seattle building designed by Frank Gehry.
Allen lends works of art to major museums and galleries, holding performances with his personal possessions. Exhibition “Seeing nature,” Hosted in 2016 by the Portland Museum of Art, the Seattle Art Museum, and the Paul G. Allen Family Collection, featuring works by Vincent van Gogh, Edward Hopper, and Gustav Klimt. Among the highlights is Jan Brueghel the Younger’s 17th-century allegorical paintings of the five senses.
“It’s amazing to live with these works of art,” Allen told Bloomberg in 2015. “I feel that you should share some works so that the public has a chance to see them.”
“Double Take: From Monet to Lichtenstein,” Showcased at his popular culture museum in 2006, combining Impressionist works with old masters, modern and contemporary pieces. Van Gogh’s 1888 “Orchard With Peach Trees in Blossom” is flanked by “Landscape with Lakes and Chimeras” by Max Ernst in 1940; an untitled compendium by Willem de Kooning 1975 matched with Monet’s 1919 “Water Lilies”.
Allen also considers art an important investment. At Christie’s in 2016, he was an anonymous buyer of Monet’s 1891 haystack painting for $81.4 million, then an auction record, according to Bloomberg.
That same year, he sell picture of American fighter plane scream in the sky by Gerhard Richter for $25.6 million, more than double the $11.2 million he paid a decade earlier and in 2014 he sold a painting by Mark Rothko for $56.2 million, for which he paid $34.2 million in 2007.
Allen has made a point of bringing culture to Seattle, in part an effort to make the arts accessible to more people. He began Seattle Art Fair at the city’s soccer stadium, home of the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, which Allen also owns. His investment company, Vulcan, also entrusted public art project in the city and supporting local artists.
“Paul truly understands the power and meaning of art and is always happy to share that experience with others,” Jody Allen, who runs the Paul G. Allen Estate, said in a statement. “I am delighted to have this unparalleled collection in the hands of Christie’s world-class operations to lead the collection safely into the hands of new collectors around the world.”
