On Nov. 9, Christie's auctioned off the estate of Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen. The collection included a total of 60 masterpieces drawn from the last five centuries of art history. The end result: proceeds of historic proportions. In total, the auction raised about €1.5 billion.
In 2018, at the age of 65, Allen died of a rare form of cancer. In high school, the businessman met Bill Gates and together they founded Microsoft.
Prior to the auction, more than 20,000 people came to admire the collection, which was briefly on display in New York. Although art lovers sometimes had to stand in line for hours, they saw this as the last chance to view the works before they disappear again into private collections.
The auction night saw bids from all over the world, with auction house staff taking bids over the phone from customers in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the US. Among other things, the Verger avec Cypres by Vincent van Gogh went under the hammer. It sold for €117 million; a new record for a work by the Dutch master at auction .
Allen's keen eye for art made some good investments; for example, he bought Gustav Klimt's Birch Forest for € 40 million, which he purchased last night for € 104 million. The best seller of the evening was Georges Seurat's Les Poseuses, Ensemble. This one changed hands for over € 149 million from owner.
All proceeds from the historic auction will be given to charity, as per Allen's wishes. The auction of Allen's collection will take place in two parts: an additional 95 works of art will be auctioned Thursday evening.
Check out how the masterpieces went under the hammer Wednesday night.
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