It took years, but Harry and Linda Macklowe finally have an answer to one of the questions hanging over their acrimonious divorce: how valuable was the trove of art they collected over five decades?
On Monday, 35 pieces of art owned by the former couple, including masterpieces by Alberto Giacometti, Mark Rothko and Cy Twombly, sold for $676m at auction at Sotheby’s New York headquarters.
The sale far surpassed Sotheby’s $400m estimate, with the collection ranking among the biggest ever to be sold at auction.
There were long battles over several works, vindicating a New York judge’s order that the art was auctioned after real estate developer Harry and art collector Linda had argued over the valuations.
Paintings by Agnes Martin and Philip Guston sold for more than double their midpoint estimates, with a new record set for Martin as well as Jackson Pollock, Robert Irwin and Michael Heizer, according to Sotheby’s.
Martin’s minimalist “Untitled #44”, which features alternating bands of powder blue and ivory, sold for $17.7m, including fees. Pollock’s abstract “Number 17, 1951”, from his Black Paintings series, also set a record at $61m, including fees.
Rothko’s “No. 7”, which was created in 1951 and includes the blocks of colour that are among his best-known designs, sold for $82.5m, with fees, the largest sum of the night.
A mammoth 18-foot wide painting of red peonies by Twombly that was completed and acquired in 2007 sold for $58.9m, including fees. And Le Nez, the long-nosed bronze sculpture completed by Giacometti in 1965, fetched $78.4m.
In a surprise, the sale of one of the star lots, an eerie silkscreen of Marilyn Monroe by Andy Warhol, received only a brief volley before auctioneer Oliver Barker ended the bidding, bringing the hammer down on an offer at $42m. Towards the end of the night, Barker reopened bidding on the lot without giving a reason.
When it reappeared, it was followed by another short unenthusiastic round of bidding that ended at $41m, just $1m above its low estimate. With fees, the painting sold for $47.4m. A spokesperson later said there was a bidding error, although it was unclear what had prompted an issue.
Before fees, the 35 lots sold for $589.7m, a figure that will be closer to the sum ultimately split by the Macklowes.
Monday’s event was the first of two auctions that will conclude the final chapter of the long-running divorce battle between the Macklowes. The split itself — which became tabloid fodder after Harry put up giant photos of himself and his new wife on one of his luxury Park Avenue developments in a taunt of his former wife — has already been finalised.
But during the divorce proceedings, Linda had resisted an outright sale of the art. Because she and her former husband could not come to terms over the value of many of the works, a judge ordered the two to liquidate much of their collection. In one instance, their appraisals on one work differed by about $30m.
“When you value real estate, you could have three other apartments in the same building. You’ll have an apartment across the street, you’ll have comparables,” said Dan Rottenstreich, a partner at Cohen Clair Lans Greifer Thorpe & Rottenstriech, the law firm that represented Harry in the divorce. “With art, you have one in the world and if it hasn’t changed hands in decades, it is hard to find a comparable.”
Many art sales are conducted out of public view, Rottenstreich added, making it tough for a court to sign off on the valuations.
The sales, which had been delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, landed in an art market that has roared back to life, particularly at the high end.
Christie’s last week sold just over $1.1bn of art as part of the twice-yearly season in New York. Sotheby’s and Phillips estimate they will clinch sales of at least $550m in the coming days, on top of Monday’s results.
Linda Macklowe declined to comment. Harry Macklowe could not be reached for comment.
Credit: Source link
