Sunday, June 6, 2010

AFP: Sotheby's to auction Lehman Brothers art collection

AFP June 5, 20101

NEW YORK — Sotheby's is to auction an impressive collection of modern art amassed by Lehman Brothers, the US finance firm that collapsed in September 2008, precipitating the financial crisis.

The collection, which will be offered for sale on September 25, is valued at more than 10 million dollars and comprises some 400 pieces by artists including Damien Hirst, Gerhard Richter, Liu Ye and Julie Mehretu, Sotheby's said.

The pieces includes "We've Got Style," by Hirst, the infamous British artist, which is valued at between 800,000 and 1.2 million dollars.

Liu Ye's "The Long Way Home" and Mehretu's "Untitled" are estimated to fetch between 600,000 and 800,000 dollars.

"It truly is a visionary collection," said Kelly Wright, an advisor to Lehman. "Many of the works were acquired from cutting edge and emergent artists who have since evolved into the vanguards of the contemporary art world."

The sale must still be approved by the bankruptcy court overseeing the liquidation of Lehman Brothers.

The firm had 639 billion dollars in assets on September 15, 2008, when it filed for bankruptcy -- the largest collapse in US history.


AFP: Sotheby's to auction Lehman Brothers art collection

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