Christie’s to Sell Paul G. Allen’s $1 Billion Art Collection
The sale, which is expected to be the biggest in auction history for a private collection, will offer works from the Microsoft co-founder’s impressive cache that ranges from old masters to contemporary giants.–
Christie’s confirmed Thursday that it had won the right to sell at least 150 artworks from Mr. Allen’s estate–
Allen also treated art as an important investment. At Christie’s in 2016, he was the anonymous buyer of Monet’s 1891 canvas of a haystack for $81.4 million, then an auction record, according to Bloomberg.
By the early 1990s, Mr. Allen started to make waves at major auctions and eventually gained a reputation as an extremely private yet omnivorous collector.
Even his autobiography didn’t delve into the back stories about his holdings of impressionist and modern art.
Only his blue-chip paintings and sculptures will be offered as part of Christie’s sale, the auction house said
Mr. Allen is also known for buying several powerhouse modern pieces, including Georgia O’Keeffe’s 1927 “White Rose with Larkspur No. 1,” and Roy Lichtenstein’s 1962 “The Kiss.”
The sale could also give the market a chance to see if Mr. Allen’s past purchases have appreciated in value—and by how much