Christie's to Auction the Paul Allen Art Collection Valued at Over $1 Billion; Poised to Be the Largest Auction in History

The roughly 150 groundbreaking pieces in this collection that belonged to the late Microsoft cofounder and billionaire, Paul Allen, are expected to exceed 1 billion dollars. The auction will take place in two parts, the first of which will begin on November 9th.
The estimated value would make it the most expensive single-owner collection ever auctioned off, surpassing the amount fetched by the Rockefeller family collection, which came to 835 million dollars in 2018.

The included works by the most influential names in the world of painting—Cézanne, Seurat, Van Gogh, and others—are estimated to be worth up to 100 million individually.
Allen's collection is a reflection of his passion for art. Given its impressive nature, before the auction it will travel on a world tour, stopping in Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Taipei, Shanghai, and London.

During his lifetime, Paul G. Allen donated over 2.6 billion to science, medicine, art, music, film, and the environment. Proceeds from the Visionary auction will go to philanthropic projects still to be determined.
Christie's CEO Guillaume Cerutti described Allen's personality as “inspirational,” adding that the quality of the art collection, together with its philanthropic goals, will make the auction "an event of unprecedented magnitude."