An art collection is tipped to break the $1 billion barrier at auction for the first time when Christie's sells works belonging to the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.
The two-day sale, taking place in New York this week, comes as experts say the super-wealthy are viewing art as a safe investment this year amid a tumultuous global economy and Russia's war in Ukraine.
Allen made his fortune with the establishment of the PC operating system with his better-known Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in 1975.
He amassed a huge art collection, which he would lend to museums before his death in 2018 at the age of 65.
The 150 works, to be sold on Wednesday and Thursday at the Christie's headquarters in Manhattan, trace more than 500 years of art history, from Botticelli and Canaletto to Georgia O'Keeffe and Louise Bourgeois, via Claude Monet, Francis Bacon and Edward Hopper.
The collection is also unique for its value: several masterpieces are estimated to fetch more than $100 million.
They include French painter Paul Cezanne's Montagne Sainte-Victoire (1888-1890), which heralded cubism, and Georges Seurat's 1888 work Les Poseuses, Ensemble (small version), a renowned work of pointillism.
Also going under the gavel is Vincent Van Gogh's Orchard with Cypresses and a painting from Paul Gauguin's Tahitian period, Maternity II (1899).
Allen left Microsoft in 1983, due to health problems and a deteriorating relationship with Gates, who remained in charge of the company until 2000.
Despite their strained friendship, Allen signed Gates's Giving Pledge campaign and all proceeds from the auction will be donated to charity.
Christie's hopes the total sales will become part of art market history and top $1 billion.
The current auction record for a private collection was set this spring by the US couple Harry and Linda Macklowe, with $922 million fetched in auctions conducted by Sotheby's.
This year is shaping up as one of the biggest ever in the art market.
Besides the Macklowe auction, an Andy Warhol portrait of Marilyn Monroe sold in May for $195 million, a record for a piece of 20th-century art.
Another famous Warhol, White Disaster (White Car Crash 19 Times) from 1963, depicting a series of images of a brutal car crash, is due to be sold on November 16 by Sotheby's, with a pre-sale estimate of more than $80 million.
"Clients want to diversify their assets, because they can enjoy it, and they know that most pieces continue increasing in value over time," Adrien Meyer, says co-chairman of Impressionist & Modern Art at Christie's.
"There are more billionaires than they are masterpieces, in essence. The demand is very diversified."
Jeremiah Evarts, vice president at rival auction house Phillips, agreed that the art market is showing "no signs" of slowing down amid several world crises.
"A lot of collectors are looking at the 20th century and perhaps feel more secure buying a Picasso, a Chagall or a Magritte," he says.
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Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Florida: The critical Sunshine State
Though mostly conservative, Florida is usually always “close” in presidential elections. In most elections, the candidate that wins the Sunshine State almost always wins the election, as evidenced in 2016 when Trump took Florida, a state which has not had a democratic governor since 1991.
Joe Biden’s campaign has spent $100 million there to turn things around, understandable given the state’s crucial 29 electoral votes.
In 2016, Mr Trump’s democratic rival Hillary Clinton paid frequent visits to Florida though analysts concluded that she failed to appeal towards middle-class voters, whom Barack Obama won over in the previous election.
MATCH INFO
Azerbaijan 0
Wales 2 (Moore 10', Wilson 34')
RESULT
Arsenal 1 Chelsea 2
Arsenal: Aubameyang (13')
Chelsea: Jorginho (83'), Abraham (87')
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma
When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
Captain Marvel
Director: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Starring: Brie Larson, Samuel L Jackson, Jude Law, Ben Mendelsohn
4/5 stars
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Winners
Best Men's Player of the Year: Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Maradona Award for Best Goal Scorer of the Year: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
TikTok Fans’ Player of the Year: Robert Lewandowski
Top Goal Scorer of All Time: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Best Women's Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
Best Men's Club of the Year: Chelsea
Best Women's Club of the Year: Barcelona
Best Defender of the Year: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus/Italy)
Best Goalkeeper of the Year: Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Italy)
Best Coach of the Year: Roberto Mancini (Italy)
Best National Team of the Year: Italy
Best Agent of the Year: Federico Pastorello
Best Sporting Director of the Year: Txiki Begiristain (Manchester City)
Player Career Award: Ronaldinho
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
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What are the regulations?
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- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
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- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Polarised public
31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is biased to right-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all
Source: YouGov
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