Top pieces from Microsoft founder’s art collection bring $1.5 billion

Dozens of works by the late Microsoft founder Paul Allen were auctioned in New York for $1.5 billion. Christie’s auction house has auctioned off part of Allen’s extensive collection of works by world-renowned artists.

Never before has an auction gone this high, writes the New York Times. Christie’s estimated total sales are about $1 billion, but that expectation has been far exceeded. The auction house had previously referred to “the largest and most extraordinary art auction in history.”

The previous record of $922 million was just six months old and was broken when Sotheby’s auctioned off a collection belonging to divorced American couple Harry and Linda Macklowe.

Van Gogh and Klimt

Allen’s collection, who died in 2018, includes rare works by Paul Cézanne, Georges Seurat, Vincent van Gogh and Gustav Klimt, each costing more than $100 million.

This is how business has changed Les Poseuses, Ensemble (petition version) Just under $150 million from owner (including utilities) from Seurat. The 1888 painting with three nude women is the most expensive Seurat work ever. van Gogh’s paintings, Verger with cypress titled, It raised more than $117 million.

Long hours in line

Allen, who founded the Microsoft company with Bill Gates in 1975, chose the works himself and did not leave them to art collectors.

The works will be auctioned in two parts. Yesterday was the turn of the masterpieces, today 95 more works will be put up for auction. The most prized piece is the $7 million statue of Swedish-American sculptor Claes Oldenburg, who died earlier this year.

All proceeds from the art collection spanning five centuries will go to the Paul Allen Philanthropy Foundation. More than 20,000 people came to see the collection for the auction. The New York Times writes that they sometimes have to queue for hours. This gives art lovers the opportunity to see works before they are lost in private collections.