Up for auction is the fabulous collection of Paul G. Allen, co-founder of Microsoft

Going up for auction is the fabulous collection of Paul G. Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft along with Bill Gates, who passed away in 2018. The sale, which will be held at Christie’ s in New York in November, has been described as “historic” by the auction house, and will put as many as 150 works of art arranged along a chronological span of 500 years of art history under the auctioneer’s hammer, and which could total a total auction value of more than $1 billion: it would be in the case of the largest sale in history of works by a single owner. In addition, the auction has another special feature: since Allen was also a philanthropist, he himself stipulated in his will that the entire proceeds must be donated to charitable activities.

Paul G. Allen’s collection reflects the depth and variety of the U.S. computer scientist’s collecting, and it renders well the picture of his tastes and preferences. From co-founding Microsoft in 1975 to starting his first charitable foundation in 1986, from creating the acclaimed Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) in 2000 to launching the Allen Institute in 2003 with its groundbreaking scientific breakthroughs across brain science, cell science and immunology, Paul G. Allen, born in Seattle in 1953, has spent a lifetime where a no small role was played by his passion for art.

A fervent collector, he began publicly sharing pieces from his collection in the late 1990s through a variety of loans, often anonymously, to museums around the world. In addition, he has mounted exhibitions that have shared highlights of his collection with the public, including the Seeing Nature exhibition in 2016, where 39 landscape paintings that showcased the natural world and highlighted key moments in the development of the landscape genre were displayed. “You have to do it because you love the works ... and you know that all these works will outlive you,” Allen reflected in an interview for Seeing Nature. “You’re just a temporary janitor of them.”

In 2010, Allen was one of the first signatories of the Giving Pledge, a commitment to contribute the majority of one’s wealth to charitable causes, and in 2015 he was awarded the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy for dedicating his private wealth to the public good. He noted, “...one of my main goals is to accelerate discovery and provide some of the world’s brightest minds with the resources to solve some of the world’s thorniest challenges.” His philanthropic contributions of more than $2.65 billion during his lifetime have deepened our understanding of the biosciences, enabled the sharing of art, music and film with the world, tackled epidemics, helped save endangered species, explored the ocean floor and invested in more vibrant and resilient communities. Many have called Allen a “multifaceted person,” whose knowledge and skills spanned a wide range of disciplines.

Among the works in the collection, the most famous is surely Paul Cézanne’s La montagne Saint-Victoire, valued at more than $100 million (the record for a Cézanne painting at auction is $60.5 million and was set in 1999). Then again, a Rouen Cathedral by Claude Monet, a painting of Tahiti by Paul Gauguin, and works by Georges Seurat, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, and Georgia O’Keeffe.

Jody Allen, executor of the estate of Paul G. Allen, commented, “For Paul, art was both analysis and emotion. He believed that art expressed a unique view of reality-combining the artist’s inner state and inner eye-in a way that can inspire us all. His collection reflects the diversity of his interests, with its own mystique and beauty. These works mean so much to so many people, and I know Christie’s will ensure their respectful dispersal to generate enormous value for philanthropic endeavors according to Paul’s wishes.”

“The inspirational figure of Paul Allen, the extraordinary quality and diversity of the works, and the dedication of all proceeds to philanthropy,” says Guillaume Cerutti, managing director of Christie’s, “create a unique combination that will make the sale of the Paul G. Allen Collection an event of unprecedented scope. Paul’s life was driven by his desire to make this world a better place. We believe that presenting his collection at auction and giving a wider audience the opportunity to discover it will be a fitting tribute to celebrate Paul Allen’s vision and legacy. We are honored and privileged and extend our gratitude to the Paul G. Allen Estate for choosing Christie’s as a partner for this project.”

Pictured: Paul Cézanne, La montagne Sainte-Victoire (1888-1890; oil on canvas, 65.1 x 81 cm)

Up for auction is the fabulous collection of Paul G. Allen, co-founder of Microsoft

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