Paul G. Allen’s Art at Christie’s Tops $1 Billion, Cracking Records - The New York Times

Just erstwhile it seemed the high-flying creation marketplace couldn’t soar immoderate higher, paintings and sculpture from the postulation of the Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen, deed the $1 cardinal people astatine Christie’s New York connected Wednesday night, making it the biggest merchantability successful auction history.

The archetypal of 2 Allen sales, it shattered a six-month-old grounds of $922 cardinal acceptable astatine Sotheby’s for creation from Harry and Linda Macklowe, squabbling spouses whose divorcement colony included the merchantability of their collection.

Where a terms of $100 cardinal utilized to signify introduction to a rarefied nine of auction grounds holders, the salesroom scarcely applauded arsenic respective tons exceeded that mark, including Georges Seurat’s “Les Poseuses, Ensemble (Petite version)” ($149 million, with fees); Paul Cézanne’s 1888-90 Cubism precursor “La Montagne Sainte-Victoire” ($138 million); van Gogh’s verdant country of Arles, “Verger avec cyprès” ($117 million); and Gustav Klimt’s 1903 autumnal “Birch Forest” ($105 million).

The Klimt merchantability broke the erstwhile precocious for the creator astatine auction: $88 cardinal for “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer II” successful 2006, the aforesaid twelvemonth Allen bought his Klimt for astir $40 million.

Attesting to the evident immunity to satellite events of the uppermost sliver of the creation market, bidding astatine the merchantability was vigorous connected respective tons (there were 4 connected the Seurat). Some creation experts said the deficiency of a perchance market-rattling governmental rout successful Tuesday’s predetermination gave buyers greater comfortableness successful parting with their funds for beauteous pictures.

“People privation to enactment their wealth into hard assets,” said the trader Nicholas Maclean of London and New York.

The auction of the creation of Allen, who died successful 2018, generated a level of excitement not typically seen successful an often-jaded creation world. Among the accustomed suspects successful the country — specified arsenic the dealers Larry Gagosian, David Zwirner, Amalia Dayan and Joe Nahmad — those who had flocked to the auction included the Christie’s owner, François-Henri Pinault, who sat successful 1 of the much discreet skyboxes.

“We are seeing a precise focused enactment from collectors successful effect to uncommon masterpieces coming to market,” the trader Dominique Lévy said. “A merchantability similar this does not bespeak the creation marketplace astatine large, but the appetite for exceptional uncommon works. It’s precise important to recognize the patina of this unsocial legendary provenance.”

The merchantability deed the $1 cardinal people astatine Lot 32, Alberto Giacometti’s graceful lasting nude “Femme de Venise III,” which sold for $25 cardinal connected an estimation of $15 cardinal to $20 million. This development, however, was not announced by the auctioneer; those successful the country were unaware that the creation marketplace had conscionable made history.

Right from the start, the archetypal 3 tons sold good supra their estimates. These included Edward Steichen’s dark, haunting 1904 “Flatiron,” showing the Flatiron Building successful New York. At $12 cardinal — 4 times the precocious estimation — it acceptable an auction precocious for the artist. It was the 2nd highest terms ever paid for a photograph, aft Man Ray’s 1924 “Le Violon d’Ingres,” which went for $12.4 cardinal astatine Christie’s past May.

More than 20,000 radical viewed the postulation successful advance, with lines arsenic agelong arsenic 2 hours stretching down Rockefeller Plaza successful midtown. Such previews often pull creation fans who are anxious to spot masterworks earlier galore of them vanish into backstage collections.

The merchantability had been eagerly anticipated by collectors, not lone for its record-setting estimates but due to the fact that of the scope of blue-chip works represented successful Allen’s collection, which helium started successful the 1980s.

The artworks — much than 150 of which came to Christie’s, which volition connection 95 of them successful a time merchantability connected Thursday — spanned 500 years of history. It ranged from Botticelli’s classical “Madonna of the Magnificat” (mid-15th to aboriginal 16th century), which sold for $48 cardinal connected an estimation of $40 million, to Wayne Thiebaud’s whimsical array of desserts, “Café Cart” (2012), which sold for $6 cardinal connected an was estimated astatine $3 cardinal to $5 million.

The postulation was dense connected figurative works similar Édouard Manet’s painterly snapshot of a paddling gondolier, “Le Grand Canal à Venise,” and David Hockney’s “The Conversation,” which depicts the curator Henry Geldzahler and the writer Raymond Foye engaged successful a tense conversation.

David Nash, who served arsenic an creation advisor to Allen, said the tech magnate had brought the aforesaid enthusiasm to buying paintings arsenic helium had to each of his different interests, which included sports teams, marine biology and encephalon research. “The Seurat is astir apt an irreplaceable coating — and the van Gogh and the Cézanne,” helium said.

At the aforesaid time, immoderate creation experts said the merchantability was a amended barometer of Allen’s buying prowess than of his singular aesthetic passion. “It’s similar the tech caput — everything is successful astonishing condition, vivid colors, not excessively disturbing, not excessively intersexual — similar a numbers oregon machine feline would deliberation it through; each 1 of them is simply a adjacent cleanable example,” said the trader and collector Adam Lindemann. “I don’t deliberation the postulation says overmuch astir him. You tin locomotion done the full happening and not travel distant with a feeling astir Paul Allen. It’s precise analytical and precise precise.”

He added, “I find it moving that idiosyncratic who has had truthful overmuch interaction connected however the satellite functions contiguous besides had this beardown and idiosyncratic effect to the creator and the hand.”

Allen was somewhat up of his clip successful collecting works by women, including Agnes Martin, Louise Bourgeois and Barbara Hepworth. And connected Wednesday, Georgia O’Keeffe’s “White Rose with Larkspur No. 1” sold for $27 million, much than 4 times the debased estimation of $6 million.

All of the proceeds went to philanthropy, arsenic Allen directed; his property has not disclosed the beneficiaries, possibly to debar alienating imaginable buyers who did not hold with the charitable causes.

The precocious prices affirmed Allen’s discerning taste, arsenic good arsenic his oculus for creation that was apt to appreciate. In 2016 helium sold Gerhard Richter’s painting of an American combatant jet for $25.6 million, much than treble the $11.2 cardinal helium had paid a decennary before, and successful 2014, helium sold a Mark Rothko painting for $56.1 million, for which helium had paid $34.2 cardinal successful 2007.

“He was a top-of-the-market buyer,” said Amy Cappellazzo, a salient advisor and erstwhile auction executive, “without a batch of competition.”