Some Of Paul Allen’s Art Sells For $1.5 Billion

NEW YORK (AP) – Works by artists including Cezanne, Seurat, and van Gogh sold for a record-breaking $1.5 billion during the first part of Christie’s two-day auction of the late Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen’s collection.

All 60 of the artworks put up for auction Wednesday night in New York sold.

Five paintings sold for prices above $100 million.

A pointillist work by George Seurat sold for $149.2 million, the evening’s highest price.

Eighteen works sold for record prices for the artists.

Those artists ranged from the 17th century Flemish painter Jan Brueghel the Younger to the 20th century photographer Edward Steichen.

All proceeds from the sale will benefit philanthropies chosen by Allen’s estate.

Allen died from complications of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2018.