Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen's $1 billion art collection, containing more than 150 masterpieces, is heading to auction — take a look at some of the best paintings

Sarah JacksonSep 25, 2022, 16:39 IST

Steve Granitz/WireImage / CHRISTIE'S IMAGES LTD. 2022

More than 150 pieces of art owned by late Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen are going up for auction in November.
The pieces, spanning 500 years of art history, could raise $1 billion for philanthropic efforts.

A massive art collection from late Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen is hitting the auction block on November 9-10, and it could fetch a combined $1 billion.

Paul AllenGetty Images / Steve Granitz

Christie's will be handling the auction of the more than 150 artworks, collectively called "Visionary: The Paul G. Allen Collection," which span more than 500 years of art history. Proceeds from the sale will be "dedicated to philanthropy, pursuant to Mr. Allen's wishes," according to a press release.

Agents at a Christie's auctionDon Emmert/Getty Images

Christie's will be handling the auction of the more than 150 artworks, collectively called "Visionary: The Paul G. Allen Collection," which span more than 500 years of art history. Proceeds from the sale will be "dedicated to philanthropy, pursuant to Mr. Allen's wishes," according to a press release.

Allen, who was 65 years old and the 27th-richest person in the world at the time of his death in 2018, once said of his love for art: "You have to be doing it because you just love the works...and you know that all these works are going to outlast you. You're only a temporary custodian of them."

Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Allen, who was 65 years old and the 27th-richest person in the world at the time of his death in 2018, once said of his love for art: "You have to be doing it because you just love the works...and you know that all these works are going to outlast you. You're only a temporary custodian of them."

The pieces in the Visionary collection range in price estimates from $1.5 million to upwards of $120 million and come from artists like Vincent van Gogh, Georgia O'Keeffe, Claude Monet, Georges Seurat, and more. Here's a closer look at some of the highlights from Allen's collection:

Reuters/Arnd Wiegmann

The pieces in the Visionary collection range in price estimates from $1.5 million to upwards of $120 million and come from artists like Vincent van Gogh, Georgia O'Keeffe, Claude Monet, Georges Seurat, and more. Here's a closer look at some of the highlights from Allen's collection:

Vincent van Gogh, "Verger avec cyprès" - Estimate of more than $100 million

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Claude Monet, "Waterloo Bridge soleil voilé" - Estimate of more than $60 million

CHRISTIE'S IMAGES LTD. 2022

Édouard Manet, "Le Grand Canal à Venise" - Estimate of more than $50 million

CHRISTIE'S IMAGES LTD. 2022

Paul Gauguin, "Maternité II" - Estimate of more than $90 million

CHRISTIE'S IMAGES LTD. 2022

Paul Cézanne, "La Montagne Sainte-Victoire" - Estimate of more than $120 million

CHRISTIE'S IMAGES LTD. 2022

Joseph Mallord William Turner, "Depositing of John Bellini's Three Pictures in La Chiesa Redentore, Venice" - Estimate of more than $30 million

CHRISTIE'S IMAGES LTD. 2022

Paul Signac, "Concarneau calme du matin (Opus no. 219, larghetto)" - Estimate of more than $28 million

CHRISTIE'S IMAGES LTD. 2022

Lucian Freud, "Large Interior, W11 (after Watteau)" - Estimate of more than $75 million

CHRISTIE'S IMAGES LTD. 2022

Louise Bourgeois, "Black Flames" - $1.5 million to $2.5 million

CHRISTIE'S IMAGES LTD. 2022

Georgia O'Keeffe, "White Rose with Larkspur No. 1" - $6 million to $8 million

CHRISTIE'S IMAGES LTD. 2022

Agnes Martin, "Untitled" - $4 million to $6 million

CHRISTIE'S IMAGES LTD. 2022

Georges Seurat, "Les Poseuses, Ensemble (Petite version)" - Estimate of more than $100 million

CHRISTIE'S IMAGES LTD. 2022

René Magritte, "La voix du sang" - $12 million to $18 million

CHRISTIE'S IMAGES LTD. 2022

Jasper Johns, "Map" - $5 million to $7 million

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Jasper Johns, "Small False Start" - Estimate of more than $50 million

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Francis Bacon, "Three Studies for Self-Portrait" - Estimate of more than $25 million

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Gustav Klimt, "Birch Forest" - Estimate of more than $90 million

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Jan Brueghel The Younger, "The Five Senses, Taste" (set of five panels) - $4 million to $6 million

CHRISTIE'S IMAGES LTD. 2022

Jan Brueghel The Younger, "The Five Senses, Touch" (set of five panels) - $4 million to $6 million

CHRISTIE'S IMAGES LTD. 2022

Jan Brueghel The Younger, "The Five Senses, Hearing" (set of five panels) - $4 million to $6 million

CHRISTIE'S IMAGES LTD. 2022

Jan Brueghel The Younger, "The Five Senses, Sight" (set of five panels) - $4 million to $6 million

CHRISTIE'S IMAGES LTD. 2022

Jan Brueghel The Younger, "The Five Senses, Smell" (set of five panels) - $4 million to $6 million

CHRISTIE'S IMAGES LTD. 2022

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Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen's $1 billion art collection, containing more than 150 masterpieces, is heading to auction &mdash; take a look at some of the best paintings

A massive art collection from late Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen is hitting the auction block on November 9-10, and it could fetch a combined $1 billion.

Allen, who was 65 years old and the 27th-richest person in the world at the time of his death in 2018, once said of his love for art: "You have to be doing it because you just love the works...and you know that all these works are going to outlast you. You're only a temporary custodian of them."

The pieces in the Visionary collection range in price estimates from $1.5 million to upwards of $120 million and come from artists like Vincent van Gogh, Georgia O'Keeffe, Claude Monet, Georges Seurat, and more. Here's a closer look at some of the highlights from Allen's collection:

Vincent van Gogh, "Verger avec cyprès" - Estimate of more than $100 million

Claude Monet, "Waterloo Bridge soleil voilé" - Estimate of more than $60 million

Édouard Manet, "Le Grand Canal à Venise" - Estimate of more than $50 million

Paul Gauguin, "Maternité II" - Estimate of more than $90 million

Paul Cézanne, "La Montagne Sainte-Victoire" - Estimate of more than $120 million

Joseph Mallord William Turner, "Depositing of John Bellini's Three Pictures in La Chiesa Redentore, Venice" - Estimate of more than $30 million

Paul Signac, "Concarneau calme du matin (Opus no. 219, larghetto)" - Estimate of more than $28 million

Lucian Freud, "Large Interior, W11 (after Watteau)" - Estimate of more than $75 million

Louise Bourgeois, "Black Flames" - $1.5 million to $2.5 million

Georgia O'Keeffe, "White Rose with Larkspur No. 1" - $6 million to $8 million

Agnes Martin, "Untitled" - $4 million to $6 million

Georges Seurat, "Les Poseuses, Ensemble (Petite version)" - Estimate of more than $100 million

René Magritte, "La voix du sang" - $12 million to $18 million

Jasper Johns, "Map" - $5 million to $7 million

Jasper Johns, "Small False Start" - Estimate of more than $50 million

Francis Bacon, "Three Studies for Self-Portrait" - Estimate of more than $25 million

Gustav Klimt, "Birch Forest" - Estimate of more than $90 million

Jan Brueghel The Younger, "The Five Senses, Taste" (set of five panels) - $4 million to $6 million

Jan Brueghel The Younger, "The Five Senses, Touch" (set of five panels) - $4 million to $6 million

Jan Brueghel The Younger, "The Five Senses, Hearing" (set of five panels) - $4 million to $6 million

Jan Brueghel The Younger, "The Five Senses, Sight" (set of five panels) - $4 million to $6 million

Jan Brueghel The Younger, "The Five Senses, Smell" (set of five panels) - $4 million to $6 million

Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen's $1 billion art collection, containing more than 150 masterpieces, is heading to auction — take a look at some of the best paintings