Fine Art

Nearly $1 Billion for the Macklowe Art Collection: Rothko, Richter, Twombly, Warhol & More

Even with inflation and even with the time value of money, and even with the reports of new billionaires, it almost seems impossible to believe that a private art collection could fetch more than $900 million. The Macklowe Collection has been sold through Sotheby’s and the auction house has announced that it was the most valuable collection ever sold.

The May 2022 auction items concluded the end of the Macklowe Collection all being under one set of owners. The $246.1 million realizes in May took the entire collection’s sale prices up to $922.2 million.

Collectors Dashboard evaluates high-end collectibles as an alternative asset class. A modern art collection worth nearly $1 billion would definitely be able to go a long way invested into stocks, bonds, real estate and more traditional investments. One question that may be worth asking at this point is how much of the auction went to collectors and how much went to investors.

The images below are the top 30 pieces listed in Sotheby’s press release as a capstone to the auction. These were some of the highlights in the sale:

  • Mark Rothko’s Untitled sold for $48 million,
  • Gerhard Richter’s Seestück (Seascape) sold for $30.2 million,
  • Andy Warhol’s Self Portrait sold for $18.7 million,
  • Willem de Kooning’s Untitled sold for $17.8 million,
  • Cy Twombly’s Synopsis of a Battle sold for $15.26 million,
  • Robert Ryman’s Swift sold for $10.66 million,
  • Agnes Martin’s Early Morning Happiness sold for $9.86 million,
  • and Willem De Kooning’s Untitled XIII sold for $8.999 million.

The prior collection pieces had sold for an amazing $676.1 million after fees. A high-profile divorce of billionaire real estate investor Harry Macklowe and wife Linda was the ultimate reason for the collection coming up for sale. When the collection was being announced for sale, Sotheby’s called this a once in a lifetime offering. That appears to have been a severe understatement.

  • 1 | ANDY WARHOL
  • 2 | ROY LICHTENSTEIN
  • 3 | AGNES MARTIN
  • 4 | SIGMAR POLKE
  • 5 | GERHARD RICHTER
  • 6 | ROBERT RYMAN
  • 7 | CY TWOMBLY
  • 8 | MARK ROTHKO
  • 9 | WILLEM DE KOONING
  • 10 | CY TWOMBLY
  • 11 | BRICE MARDEN
  • 12 | ANDY WARHOL
  • 13 | SIGMAR POLKE
  • 14 | AGNES MARTIN
  • 15 | ROBERT RYMAN
  • 16 | WILLEM DE KOONING
  • 17 | JEFF KOONS
  • 18 | MARK GROTJAHN
  • 19 | JEAN DUBUFFET
  • 20 | ALBERTO GIACOMETTI
  • 21 | GERHARD RICHTER
  • 22 | ANSELM KIEFER
  • 23 | PABLO PICASSO
  • 24 | ANDY WARHOL
  • 25 | JEFF KOONS
  • 26 | JOHN CHAMBERLAIN
  • 27 | DONALD JUDD
  • 28 | RICHARD SERRA
  • 29 | WADE GUYTON