The Hotly Anticipated Auction of the Macklowe Collection, Predicted to Raise the Art Market to New Heights, Has Been Postponed

The upcoming auction season in New York just got a few hundred
million dollars slimmer with the not entirely surprising
news that veteran art dealer Michael Findlay has decided to halt
the sale of the collection of divorced couple Harry and Linda
Macklowe to auction because of the current global crisis.

Findlay, the court-appointed receiver for the sale of the
Macklowe collection, “has decided to pause the process of selecting
an auction house because of the current international situation
stemming from the COVID-19 virus. In due course, Mr. Findlay will
decide when to proceed,” according to a statement given to
Artnet News by a representative for Findlay. Some observers
expected the sale to take place in May.

As Artnet News reported this past October, after a year of legal
wrangling, Findlay was appointed the receiver for the art
collection that was going up for sale amid the bitter divorce of
New York real estate mogul Harry and his wife Linda. The news
immediately touched off an art world guessing game about which
auction house would win the right to sell the collection, not to
mention how much it might have to pony up in terms of guarantees or
other promises.

The 165-work collection, estimated at upwards of $700
million, is a trophy hunter’s
dream. It includes a $50 million Andy
Warhol Marilyn, nine works by Pablo Picasso, a
Jackson Pollock painting worth up to $35 million, roughly a dozen
works by Jeff Koons—including a $10 million bronze sculpture
titled Vest with Aqualung—and a $12 million work
by Brice Marden.

The post The Hotly Anticipated Auction of the Macklowe
Collection, Predicted to Raise the Art Market to New Heights, Has
Been Postponed appeared first on artnet News.