Christie’s announces the $1 billion auction

Christie’s has announced the sale of the art collection of Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen (1953 – 2018), valued in excess of $1 billion.

Source: Christie’s · Image: Paul Cézanne: “La montagne Sainte-Victoire”, 1888-90. Oil on canvas, 65.1 x 81 cm.

As it did last year with the Cox Collection, Christie’s did not want to wait until September to announce the first of the major art auctions to be held next November. In this case, moreover, it is a sale poised to be historic, becoming the most valuable art collection ever offered at auction.

Guillaume Cerutti, CEO of Christie’s, described the upcoming auction as “an event of unprecedented magnitude“, adding that “Paul Allen’s life was guided by his desire to make this world a better place.  We believe that presenting his collection at auction and giving the opportunity to wider audiences to discover it will be a fitting tribute to celebrate Paul Allen’s vision and legacy. We are honoured and privileged and extend our gratitude to the Paul G. Allen Estate for having chosen Christie’s as its partner for this project.“

The first of the stars of the collection is, of course, Paul Cézanne’s “La montagne Sainte-Victoire“, which Christie’s expects to sell for a price in excess of $100 million. This price would be in line with the $100 million paid some seven years ago by the Qatari state for “La Montagne Sainte-Victoire vue du bosquet du Château Noir“. The version on sale at Christie’s is certainly a remarkable painting, though far from the almost Cubist boldness of later versions of the same subject. Interestingly, the last time this painting was sold (2001, for some $35.8 million), Scott Schaefer of the Getty Museum described it as “a B-level painting“, a description that nevertheless seems excessively negative.