First Block of Lehman Brothers Art Soon to be Auctioned

William Cohen of Fotune Magazine previews the upcoming sale of art from failed investment bank Lehman Brothers.  283 lots will be offered by Freeman's Auction of Philadelphia on November 1st. The expectations for the art is not high, with all 283 lots expected to bring between $500,00.00 and $700,000.00, and rather small amount considered the billions involved in the bankruptcy proceedings.  Two other sales will be scheduled by Freeman's, with values expected to be in the $280,000.00 and $430,000.00 range.

A Roy Lichtenstein print, "I Love Liberty" (see image) is being offered with an estimate of between $15,000.00 and $25,000.00.  According to the article there is a reserve on the print.

From an appraisal and valuation standpoint, it will also be interesting to track the sale of these prints and compare to others without the notoriety and provenance of the being from the Lehman collection.

Cohen reports

Still, the 283 lots that Freeman's will be selling early next month do include any number of iconic images by many familiar artists. For instance, there is a group of 10 Berenice Abbott photographs of New York City street scenes (as well as one of the Flatiron Building) on which Freeman's has placed a seemingly modest price range of between $6,000 and $10,000. There is a set of nine Walker Evans photographs of the Brooklyn Bridge, priced at $1,000 to $1,500. There is a Christo print of wrapped buildings in lower Manhattan ($1,000 to $1,500) and a signed Alexander Calder print ($800 to $1,200). There is a 1973 David Hockney print of spring flowers in a vase that Freeman pegged at between $7,000 and $10,000.

A Roy Lichtenstein print, "I Love Liberty" from 1982, is estimated to fetch between $15,000 and $25,000. The Lichtenstein is one of the few lots being sold subject to a reserve price, or floor, so that if a minimum bid is not received the artwork will not be sold. Most of the collection, however, will just be sold without a price floor, which may be why Freeman's has put relatively low price ranges on a number of the pieces.

There are also a number of prints by artists such as Jim Dine, Louise Bourgeois, Claes Oldenburg, Wayne Thiebaud, Yaccov Agam, Alex Katz, Robert Motherwell, Louise Nevelson, Frank Stella, Robert Indiana, and Andy Warhol. In many ways, the collection is very typical of what Wall Street banks and law firms use to line the many walls of their offices. There are also a slew of works by lesser-known artists as well as French, Indian, and Chinese artists.

Although the dollar amount is relatively small, selling the collection is a bit of a coup for Freeman's. Usually, one of the three titans in the auction art market, Christie's, Sotheby's (BID), or Phillips, would be expected to sell such a collection. But Kelly Wright, an art advisor to Lehman, conducted a beauty contest earlier in the year and Freeman's was selected. "We are very excited about it," Henry said. "This is a very important provenance in the art world and there are number of top quality artworks being sold in good condition." Of course, Freeman's will get its pound of flesh. The auctioneer will add 25% on the first $20,000 of the hammer price of each lot, and 20% on the portion from $20,001 through $500,000.

To read the full article from Fortune, click HERE.