The sale was only a few lots shy of a billion dollars.
Sotheby’s just hosted the May 2022 return of The Macklowe Collection, which collected a total of $922.2 million across two auctions. This makes it the most valuable collection ever sold at an auction.
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The recent sale realized $246.1 million, adding to the previously collected $676 million during the collection’s November 2021 debut.
Highlights of the collection’s May return included Mark Rothko’s “Untitled” ($48 million), Gerhard Richter’s “Seestück” ($30.2 million), Andy Warhol’s “Self Portrait” ($18.7 million), and Willem de Kooning’s “Untitled” ($17.8 million).
“The unparalleled quality of The Macklowe Collection excited collectors around the world. And the results are an homage to the art of collecting in its highest form,” Sotheby’s chairman Brooke Lampley said.
The auction house said The Macklowe Collection is an “exemplary vision of connoisseurship.”
It consists of rare and esteemed works from both the 20th and 21st centuries collected over decades.
A total of 30 works comprised the May sale. These came from artists like Mark Rothko, Gerhard Richter, Cy Twombly, Sigmar Polke, Robert Ryman, Agnes Martin, Jeff Koons, Andy Warhol, Jean Dubuffet, Roy Lichtenstein, and Donald Judd.
“United by their art historical significance and unique in their exceptional quality. This selection of artworks together reveals the extraordinary authority and vision that defines The Macklowe Collection,” Sotheby’s concluded.
Banner Photo via Sotheby’s Instagram
