His two-day auction at New York comes amid a tumultuous global economy and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine this year, experts say the ultra-wealthy see art as a safe investment. I was.
In 1975, Allen, along with his famous Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, made a fortune establishing the PC operating system. Until his death in 2018 at the age of 65, he had a vast collection of art on loan to museums.
His 150 works, for sale at Christie’s Manhattan headquarters Wednesdays and Thursdays, span more than 500 years of art history, from Botticelli and Canaletto to Georgia O’Keeffe and Louise Bourgeois, through Claude Monet, Francis Bacon and Edward Hoppers. is following
This collection is also unique in its value. Some masterpieces are worth over $100 million.
Mount Sainte-Victoire (1888-1890), where the French painter Paul Cézanne pioneered Cubism, and Georges Seurat’s famous work in pointillism, his 1888 work Poses, Ensemble (small version), etc.
Also under consideration are Vincent van Gogh’s Cypress Orchard and Maternity II (1899), a painting from Paul Gauguin’s time in Tahiti.
Allen left Microsoft in 1983 due to health problems and a souring relationship with Gates, who ran the company until 2000.
Despite a strained friendship, Allen signs Gates’ “Giving Pledge” campaign, with all auction proceeds going to charity.
Christie’s hopes to be part of art market history and exceed $1 billion in gross sales. The current auction record for the
Private Collection was set by American couple Harry and Linda McCullough this spring, when he sold for $922 million at Sotheby’s auction.
This year is going to be the biggest ever on the art market. In parallel with his Macklowe sale in May, a portrait of Marilyn Monroe by Andy Warhol sold for his $195 million. This is the highest price paid for a 20th century work of art. Another of Warhol’s iconic works, his 1963 White Disaster (White Car Crash 19 Times) features a series of images of a brutal car crash and will go on sale November 16th by Sotheby’s with an estimated pre-sale value of over $80 million. Adrian Meyer, co-chairman of
Christie’s Impressionist and Contemporary Art Department, told AFP, “Customers want to diversify their assets because they can enjoy them, and most of the works will change over time.”
“Essentially there are more millionaires than millionaires. Demand is very diverse,” he added.
Jeremiah Evarts, vice president of rival auction house Phillips, agreed the art market showed no “signs” of slowing down amid multiple global crises.
“Many collectors are looking to his 20th century and may feel safer buying Picasso, Chagall and Magritte,” he said.
