The collection of the late co-founder of Microsoft, Paul Allen, will be auctioned during a sale organized by Christie’s in New York in November, announced Thursday August 25 the auction house, which estimates it at more than one billion dollars, which would be an absolute record.
More than 150 works will be proposed, including the painting ” The Sainte-Victoire mountain by French painter Paul Cézanne, estimated at more than $100 million, according to a statement. All proceeds from the sale will be donated to charity, according to Christie’s.
Died of cancer in 2018 at the age of 65, Paul Allen imagined, with Bill Gates, the operating system for personal computers that would make the success of Microsoft, founded in 1975. He left the group in 1983, because health problems, but also a deteriorated relationship with Bill Gates, who was to remain in charge until 2000.
In addition to Cézanne, is among the trophies of Paul Allen “ Small False Start by American painter Jasper Johns, estimated at more than $50 million, according to the New York Times. Christie’s has not communicated on other pieces, but a traveling exhibition mounted in 2016 drawing on Paul Allen’s collection gives a glimpse of its richness. We would find there paintings by Monet, Manet, Brueghel the younger, Klimt, Hockney or Richter.
A singular year in the history of the art market
With this sale, which follows that of the Macklowe collection and the portrait of Marilyn Monroe “ Shot Sage Blue Marilyn by Andy Warhol, which sold for 195 million dollars at the beginning of May – a record for a 20th century work – the current year could go down as one of the most significant in the history of the art market.
“ The character of Paul Allen, a source of inspiration, the extraordinary quality and diversity of the works and the destination of the proceeds of the sale to works, create a unique combination that will make the sale of the Paul Allen collection an event of unprecedented magnitude “, commented the general manager of Christie’s, Guillaume Cerutti, quoted in the press release.
The current record for private collections was set last spring by American couple Harry and Linda Macklowe, with $922 million in multiple auctions at Sotheby’s.
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(with AFP)