Knoedler to Auction Inventory

The NY Times is reporting that Knoedler will auction nearly three dozen remaining pieces from its inventory at Doyle.  The art has a pre sale estimate range of $1.3 million to $2 million, with individual pieces value between $1,500 and $200,000.

The question of course is are the works authentic?  It will be interesting to see how the sale performs.  Doyle reps said they are checking provenance and vetting each piece.  Also, the pieces to be auctioned are not involved in pending litigation or FBI investigations, so it appears the titles are clear.

The NY Times reports

The now-shuttered Knoedler & Co. gallery, which is the subject of several lawsuits charging it sold fakes, will sell nearly three dozen works from its remaining inventory at auction this fall.

Thirty-four pieces of art from the gallery’s inventory that include works by Robert Rauschenberg, Helen Frankenthaler, Jules Olitski, Milton Avery, and Walker Evans, are scheduled to be auctioned off by Doyle New York on Nov. 13, said Harold Porcher, vice-president and director of modern contemporary art at Doyle. The pre-sale estimate of the collection ranges from $1.3 million to nearly $2 million, Mr. Porcher said, with individual pieces valued between $1,500 to $200,000.

The lots have absolutely no connection to the ongoing F.B.I. investigation of possible fakes sold by Knoedler, Mr. Porcher said. Three former clients of the gallery are suing it for more than $40 million, arguing that they were duped into buying forged paintings that were attributed to Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Willem de Kooning. The gallery has denied the allegations.

“I have no concerns whatsoever about this property,” Mr. Porcher said of the works to be sold at auction, an event reported earlier by the GalleristNY blog. Nonetheless, given the circumstance, he said he was personally vetting every object and documenting its provenance in detail. Mr. Porcher said it was he who had initially contacted Knoedler to ask about the possibility of auctioning some of its inventory.

“This is not a fire sale,” he said.

Source: The NY Times