Belonged to the Macklowe collectors and is being auctioned at Sotheby’s: Cy Twombly, “Untitled”, acrylic and chalk on wooden panel, 252.1 by 552.5 centimeters, estimate 40 to 60 million dollars.
Image: dpa
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Market test for the top price segment: The evening auctions with modern and contemporary at Sotheby’s and Phillips in New York have an extraordinary private collection, cryptic and young, trendy art on offer.
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Dhe New York fall season with modernity and contemporaries is the first major market test for the top price segment in a few years. With upper estimates of up to $ 90 million, the one hundred million dollar mark seems to be within reach again. “Debt, death, divorce” – debt, death or divorce – are the proverbial reasons why large art collections are sold.
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Also from the Macklowe collection at Sotheby’s: Alberto Giacometti, “Le Nez”, cast from 1965, bronze, steel, iron, 81.3 centimeters high, estimate 70 to 90 million dollars.
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Image: Sotheby’s
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In this case, it is Linda and Harry Macklowe’s public divorce battle that brings blue-chip works of the 20th and 21st centuries onto the market. Macklowe made his fortune in real estate, Linda put together the art collection. The divorce was filed in 2016; Since the advisors of both parties could not agree on the value of the collection, the New York State Supreme Court ordered the sale of the most valuable works in 2018 in order to determine their maximum market value. The pandemic then delayed implementation.
The Macklowe Collection, which has been compiled with a great deal of expertise over more than half a century, is one of those trophies for which auction houses compete at great expense. Which auction company would land the collection largely depended on the amount of the guarantee, the contractually agreed minimum proceeds. Guarantees issued in advance can cost auction houses dearly if the costs are not recovered – and profitability is now just as important to Sotheby’s as Christie’s, as is market share. In the end, it was Sotheby’s that secured the Macklowe collection. A total of 65 works will come under the hammer in two tranches. Sotheby’s is hoping for “more than” $ 600 million, the highest total collection fee ever. The (not publicly known) guarantee should, however, be higher than this.
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Luminous top lot from the Macklowe auction: Mark Rothko, “No. 7 “, 1951, oil on canvas, 240.7 by 138.7 centimeters, estimate 70 to 90 million dollars.
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Image: Sotheby`s
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On November 15, the first 35 works will be called up in a separate evening auction, the rest will follow in May. Sotheby’s has already secured irrevocable bids from third parties for eighteen of the lots, thereby reducing the financial risk. The lower total tax is $ 437.9 million. For comparison: The Rockefeller Collection, which went under the hammer at Christie’s in 2018, generated sales of $ 833 million with 550 works of art and a thousand other objects. The evening auction with the 44 most valuable works of art by the Rockefellers brought in 646 million.
The Macklowe auction is led by Alberto Giacometti and Mark Rothko. For Rothko’s luminous composition in pink, yellow and orange “No. 7 ”and Giacometti’s portrait with a spear-like nose,“ Le Nez ”, cast eight times in bronze between 1964 and 1965, bids between 70 and 90 million dollars are expected. A five and a half meter wide painting with balls of red paint on a white background by Cy Twombly, “Untitled”, from 2007, is estimated at 40 to 60 million. Andy Warhol’s “Nine Marilyns” require the same commitment. Sigmar Polke’s “Raster image with palm trees” (8/12 million) from 1966 once hung in Linda Macklowe’s library.
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