A heated contest between two competing art auction houses has come to an end and Sotheby’s will now have the privilege of auctioning A. Alfred Taubman’s massive art collection that is estimated to be worth about $500 million. The sales are planned for November and January and is estimated to be even more successful than the Yves St. Laurent sale of 2009 in Paris that brought in $477 million. Sothby’s competed with archrival Christie’s to get the right to sell Taubman’s collection. Alfred Taubman had long been associated with Sotheby’s, helping the company grow into a major prominent auction house. Taubman sold his controlling interest in the company in 2005 but maintained involvement with the auction house until his death in April at the age of 91.
See Graham Bowley and Colin Moynihan, Sotheby’s to Auction A. Alfred Taubman’s $500 Million Trove, The New York Times, September 3, 2015.
Special thanks to Joel Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.
