Sotheby's to Sell Portion of Lehman Brothers Collection

Bloomberg is reporting that Sotheby's will be selling more than 400 contemporary art pieces in New York on Sept. 25. The a single-owner contemporary art sale will be held in New York at proceeds going to creditors of the now bankrupt investment bank. The sale is expected to raise close to $10 million. The article speculates a Mehretu painting from the collection may yield 40 times the cost (see image). Not a bad return, perhaps Lehmans was better at selecting art over mortgage backed securities.

The article also states that Sotheby's is not taking a sellers commission, and instead will take an increased buyers premium, although this appears to be subject to approval by the bankruptcy court.

Bloomberg reports

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the investment bank liquidating in bankruptcy, may reap more than $10 million from an art sale at Sotheby’s this fall, including a Julie Mehretu painting estimated to fetch a near 40-fold profit.

The swirling, abstract by Mehretu, the 2001 “Untitled 1,’’ is estimated to sell for as much as $800,000, according to Sotheby’s. The bank acquired the painting in 2001 for $21,726. Mehretu, who has a show at New York’s Guggenheim Museum, recently completed a mural for the lobby of Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s New York office.

Lehman is selling more than 400 contemporary artworks at Sotheby’s in New York on Sept. 25 in a single-owner sale, with the proceeds going to creditors.

“The idea wasn’t to purchase for investment,’’ said Naomi Baigell, a Sotheby’s senior vice president in charge of corporate art services. “They showcased what was going on each year. The idea was to bring new culture to the workplace.’’

The sale’s projected top lot is Damien Hirst’s 1993 “We’ve Got Style (The Vessel Collection-Blue)’’ -- a mixed media installation, estimated to sell for $800,000 to $1 million. The work was acquired a year after it was made.

Other artists in the collection include Richard Prince, John Currin, Gerhard Richter and Liu Ye.

To read the full article, click HERE.