Late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's collection makes history; raises $1.5 bn in auction

As art market valuations remain robust amid global economic headwinds, late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has broken the sales record for a single collection, which fetched $1.5 billion at Christie’s auction in New York. Allen and his childhood friend founded Microsoft in 1975. On November 9, the auction of 60 lots was the first of two sales whereas the remaining 95 artworks were set to be sold on November 10 in New York. Around half of the work acquired on November 9 exceeded estimates by Christie’s valuation. However, the star of the night was Georges Seurat’s 1888 painting “Les Poseuses, Ensemble (petite version) which was sold for $149 million, including the buyer’s premium. The auctioneer called it a “historic” sale while announcing the night’s final tally.

Biggest art sale at Christie’s in New York

Paul Allen's Collection spans over 500 years of art history and has some of the most recognisable names. As described by Christie's, it is the largest and most exceptional private collection offered. The auction house has expected the collection to sell for about $1 billion. The raised amount is planned to be donated to philanthropic causes in accordance with the wishes of Allen, who passed away in 2018. In 2016 when some of his collection was showcased, Allen once shared “When you look at a painting, you’re looking into a different country, into someone else’s imagination, how they saw it."

At the auction, several of the winning bids smashed previous records for individual artists. The first part of the auction also included pieces by David Hockney, Gerhard Richter, Louise Bourgeois, Georgia O’Keefe, Jasper Johns, Sandro Botticelli, and Wassily Kandinsky. Amidst the priciest artworks sold, there was Pointillist pioneer Georges Seurat’s Les Poseuses, Ensemble (Petite version)1888 which showed oil on canvas depicting three nude women. It raised $149.2 million including fees, a record for a Seurat piece. The second painting was a colourful landscape painted from 1888-1890, Cézanne’s La Montagne Sainte-Victoire which sold for $137.8 million. Whereas the third painting a Gustav Klimt 1903 painting, Birch Forest, set the high mark for a Klimt work which was sold for $104.6 million. In Allen's lifetime, more than $2 billion has been given away for causes such as healthcare, science, technology, environmental conservation, wildlife and more.

Image: AP