Freeman’s Sell First Part Of Lehman Brothers Art Collection For US$1.35 Million

Freeman’s auctioneers announced recently it sold  the first part of the multi-million dollar art collection of the former global financial services firm, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (LBHI) in Philadelphia for US$1.35 million, double the original estimate for this part of the collection.

Anne Henry, Vice-President of Modern and Contemporary Works of Art at Freeman’s said, “With multiple world records falling under the hammer and nearly every State in the Union, 30 countries and over 1,300 registered bidders represented in the auction room, along with 600 live internet bidders on Artfact, Philadelphia was truly at the center of the art world today. We gave members of the public a rare opportunity to purchase works from one of the most substantial corporate art collections ever assembled in the country.”

Highlights in the 100 % sold sale, which was made up of works from Lehman offices in New York, Boston and Delaware, included a Roy Lichtenstein ‘I Love Liberty’ which sold for US$49,000 and ten prints by Louis Lozowick which sold for US$94,000, in total. A Freidel Dzubas, ‘Tundra II’ sold for US$28,600, a set of 7 prints by Robert Indiana, ‘Polygons’ sold for US$23,750 and a Byron Browne, ‘Image in Black’ US$25,000. Georges Schreiber’s 1945 view of a coral sun setting over Manhattan’s Financial District hung in the New York boardroom of Lehman Brothers selling for $20,000.

Significant works by Bernar Venet, Driss Oudahi, Arturo Herrera and Pouran Jinchi were also included in the 280 lot sale. There were prints by Louis Bourgeouis and Terry Frost, photographs by Bernice Abott along with important paintings by Bernard Cathelin and Herbert Brandl. In addition, there was a large number of reasonably priced prints, drawings and paintings from standout artists of the latter half of the 20th Century.

Mr Kelly Wright, an advisor to LBHI who is overseeing the evaluation and sale of this offering, said “We are very pleased with the result, there was a keen interest from private buyers and the Lehman’s attachment seemed to also pay dividends. It bodes very well for the future sales we are holding at Freeman’s.”

Freeman’s will be selling the next part of the Lehman’s collection in Philadelphia in their “Fine American and European Paintings and Sculpture” December 6th, 2009 with thelast items of the Collection being sold at a ‘no reserve sale’ “Works from the Lehman Brothers Collection: Part II” on February 12th, 2010.