Over the course of his life, Paul Allen made an impact in countless ways — beginning with, but not limited to, his work as a co-founder of Microsoft. He established a museum, was an owner of several Seattle-based sports teams and invested in private spaceflight. And by the time of his death in 2018, Allen has also accumulated a massive art collection.
Now, that art collection is set to be auctioned off at Christie’s later this year. As the New York Times reports, Allen’s collection is valued at over a billion dollars. Allen’s collection covered a lot of ground, encompassing artists ranging from David Hockney to Pierre-Auguste Renoir.
The auction is set to take place this November in New York City.
According to a statement from Christie’s, the auction — titled Visionary: The Paul G. Allen Collection — will encompass over 150 works of art, with proceeds set to be “dedicated to philanthropy.”
Guillaume Cerutti, the CEO of Christie’s, addressed some of the themes of the pending auction. “Paul’s life was guided by his desire to make this world a better place,” Cerutti said in a statement. “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.”
The auction is set to take place at Christie’s Rockefeller Center. The current record for a private art collection sold at auction — $922 million — was set earlier this year. If all goes according to plan, that record may well be eclipsed by the time 2022 has run its course.
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