Auction Raises $676 Million at Sotheby’s in New York

The most lucrative auction ever conducted by one of the world’s finest art houses has emerged from an unpleasant divorce in which the feuding spouses were obliged to sell an art collection containing works by Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock, and Mark Rothko after being unable to agree on its value.

The Macklowe Collection, accumulated over more than half a century by real estate billionaire Harry Macklowe and Linda Macklowe, an honorary trustee of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, was sold for more than $676 million (£503 million).

The overall amount raised made the auction the most lucrative single-owner auction ever conducted, as well as the most expensive auction ever held at Sotheby’s, according to the auction company.

The 35 pieces included Rothko’s 8-foot-tall Number 7, which sold for $82.5 million, the sale’s highest single amount. The painting, which was completed in 1951, has been hailed as “a perfect symphony of color, light, and scale” by Grégoire Billault, Sotheby’s chairman for contemporary art, and as one of the artist’s finest works.

Silkscreen by Andy Warhol Nine Marilyns sold for $47.4 million, while his Sixteen Jackies went for $33.9 million. Le Nez, a bronze sculpture by Alberto Giacometti, sold for $78.4 million, while another by Pablo Picasso sold for $26.3 million.

Pollock’s Number 17, 1951 sold for $61.2 million, more than twice its pre-sale estimate, while Cy Twombly’s unnamed painting of weeping red peonies sold for £58.9 million.

Sigmar Polke, Gerhard Richter, and Agnes Martin were among the artists included in the exhibition.

The Macklowes, both in their 80s, amassed their art collection during almost six decades of marriage, with Linda credited with the majority of purchases.

The pair was known for having acrimonious public encounters, and their marital problems finally led to a divorce. Aside from their art collection, two Manhattan apartments – one worth $72 million – a $19 million Hamptons mansion, and a 150-foot boat were all up for grabs.

But they couldn’t agree on the worth of their art collection, and neither could their attorneys. The paintings were ordered to be auctioned after a court determined that the only way to determine their value was to test the market.

After a 14-week divorce battle, Harry Macklowe celebrated his new marriage to Patricia Landau by erecting 42-foot-high portraits of the couple on one of his Park Avenue buildings, just across from his ex-apartment. wife’s

The Sotheby’s auction in New York on Monday evening was widely viewed as the most significant test of the fine art market since the Covid epidemic began in early 2020. There was fierce competition for the works, especially from bids representing Asian purchasers, since demand outstripped supply.

Last year, Asian collectors obtained over a third of Sotheby’s sales.

The Sotheby’s auction was attended by both Harry and Linda Macklowe. A second auction of the couple’s collection, consisting of another 40 paintings, is planned for May 2022.

Thanks to Harriet Sherwood at The Guardian whose reporting provided the original basis for this story.