NEW YORK, NOV 6 (US): Fall art auction season kicks off in New York City next week, with both Christie’s and Sotheby’s anticipating record sales.
A highlight of this collection is Christie’s Paul G. Allen Collection, which includes more than 150 pieces spanning over 500 years. The collection, owned by the late Microsoft co-founder, includes works by Pablo Picasso, Georges Seurat, Paul Cézanne, and Lucian Freud.
“Many of the works in the collection are expected to be recordings by the artist. Many of them were actually recordings by the artist at the time Paul Allen purchased them from previous auctions, Freud being one of them,” Christie’s said. Vice Chairman Joanna Flum, according to Reuters.
“We anticipate setting records for Seurat, Cezanne and many more antiques within the collection.”
The $1 billion collection will be auctioned live at Christie’s Rockefeller Center November 9-10.
Then on November 17, Christie’s will hold a 21st Century Evening Auction with highlights including Jean-Michel Basquiat’s “Sugar Ray Robinson,” a portrait of the legendary boxer.
“Our estimate in the region is $35 million…This painting is an artist’s absolute masterpiece,” said Isabella Loria, Christie’s 21st Century Evening Sales Head.
Meanwhile, Sotheby’s expects to break records with “Composition No. 2” by Piet Mondrian, estimated at more than $50 million, and “White Disaster” by Andy Warhol.
“Warhol is estimated to sell in excess of $80 million. There have only been three large-scale ‘disasters’ coming to market in the past 20 years, and every time one of them appears – in 2007 and 2013 – the auction is reset,” David said. Galperin, Head of Contemporary Art for the Americas at Sotheby’s, “An Andy Warhol Record.”
A Sotheby’s Evening Modern Art Auction will take place on November 14, followed by a Contemporary Evening Auction on November 16.
“There is a lot of great work on display,” said Julien Dawes, President of Impressionist and Modern Arts of the Americas. “I definitely feel like we’re going to see a very strong market this fall.”
HF