Introduction
Paul Allen is known for his massive collection of art and collectables, which he amassed over 20 years. Now, the art world has a new record-setter:
This week, a $1.6 billion sale at Christie’s was the most valuable ever auctioned by a single owner in history.
The proceeds will go to philanthropic causes, including research into brain cancer that killed Allen himself just last month.
Art amassed by late Microsoft co-founder over two days of sales this week
at Christie’s, Paul Allen made more than $1.6 billion.
Last week, the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen made a record for the most expensive single-owner art collection ever sold at auction when he raked in more than $1.6 billion at Christie’s over two days of sales. But which pieces have fetched the most?
- A painting by French artist Claude Monet, “Le Bassin aux Nymphéas” (1914), sold for $110 million.
- A sculpture called “Le Penseur” (1931) by Auguste Rodin was purchased for $95 million.
The most expensive of the 60 auctioned works of art was Georges Seurat’s “Les Poseuses, Ensemble (Petite version)”.
One of the most valuable paintings sold during the event was Georges Seurat’s “Les Poseuses, Ensemble (Petite Version),” which fetched $149.24 million, including fees.
The work was created in 1890 and is part of a series of works by Seurat called the “Gardens.” It broke the artist’s previous auction record, set at Christie’s in New York City when his painting “Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” sold for $60 million in 2012.
La Montagne Sainte-Victoire by Paul Cézanne sold for $137.8 million, more than double the artist’s previous auction record.
The highest-priced work of art sold at auction was Paul Cézanne’s “La Montagne Sainte-Victoire,” which sold for $137.8 million.
The sale almost doubled the artist’s previous record, set in 1990 when his “Nu au coussin bleu (Madame Cézanne)” sold for $48.4 million.
Cézanne is a French artist born in Aix-en-Provence who worked in Paris during the 19th century and is widely considered one of the most influential artists of all time.
The priciest pieces were sold at a Wednesday night auction.
The most costly lots were sold during a Wednesday night auction that featured 60 of Allen’s collection’s most priceless items and brought in a combined $1.5 billion. On Thursday, other properties went up for auction and made roughly $116 million.
The artwork sold for the most incredible money on Thursday wasClaes Oldenburg’s sculpture “Typewriter Eraser, Scale X,” which fetched $8.4 million as one of 95 artworks from Allen’s collection that went to auction Thursday and Friday at Christie’s Rockefeller Center headquarters in Manhattan.
“Allan had an incredible eye for quality,” said Brett Gorvy, chairman of Christie’s and international director of post-war and contemporary art. “He was always buying into the best artists at the top end of their market.”
Forbes Evaluation estimated Allen was worth $20.3 billion in 2018, the year he died.
According to Forbes, Allen was worth $20.3 billion in 2018, the year he died, making him the 44th richest person in the world.
Allen didn’t start collecting art until the early 1990s
“Paul was always a late adopter,” Deborah Gunn, associate director of art finance at Vulcan, Allen’s investment management company, told CNBC.
“He started collecting in the early 1990s when he visited the Tate Modern in London and realized he could own world-class artwork too.
His taste was varied, and his collection spans more than 500 years of art history, from Botticelli to McArthur Binion.”
Allen’s pointillism collection includes works by Seurat and Signac — both hallmarks of this style.
He also had a penchant for landscapes, particularly scenes from Venice (the auction includes eight).
“I’m not sure if I’ll ever really know why Paul liked these particular paintings,” said Gunn. “But what I do know is that Jasper Johns’ numbers allowed him to think about coding.”
Conclusion
Paul Allen’s death was a sad loss for the world, but it’s good to see his legacy live on in this way.
His collection of art and collectables has been sold for a record-breaking $1.6 billion, and many of the buyers are new collectors who might not have been able to afford these pieces if they had not been acquired at auction. It will be fascinating to observe what takes place next with them.