Even with high expectations—the late Microsoft cofounder’s collection was known to have numerous masterpieces in immaculate condition, and the uncertain economy has big spenders looking for safe bets—the sum was staggering.
Five of the paintings on offer exceeded $100 million each, the most ever for one sale, and each set a world record for the artist. The highest price, $149.24 million, was for Georges Seurat’san 1888 pointillist depiction of three nudes arranged in front of a detail of the artist’s famedAlso making the $100 million club were lots by Cézanne, van Gogh, Gaugin and Klimt.
As with any substantial collection, Allen’s elicited a certain voyeuristic curiosity: What did one of the original tech billionaires collect, and why? What was the thread, if any?Wiktor Szymanowicz/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Unlike the postwar and contemporary focus of the Macklowes, who zeroed in on Rothko, Twombly, Warhol and the like, Allen demonstrated more catholic taste, with acquisitions spanning five centuries and myriad styles, from the early Italian Renaissance to French Impressionism and on up to Pop and other 20th-century movements.
Viewers might speculate whether the many landscapes—by artists as varied as Monet, O’Keeffe, Richter and Hockney—referenced the tech frontier. Or perhaps where we see van Gogh’s deceptively controlled, tiny marks, Allen saw digital pixels. But it doesn’t take an expert—whether in tech or in art—to be floored by those Klimt birch trees. Some things don’t need explaining.