Sotheby's Results: Selected Works from The Neuberger Berman and Lehman Brothers Corporate Art Collections
The sale of selected works from the distinguished Neuberger Berman and Lehman Brothers Corporate Art Collections brought a total of $12,277,751, reaching the high estimate ($8/12 million). Seventeen auction records were set for artists including Julie Mehretu and Glenn Ligon, and the sale was 83% sold by lot with more than half of those works bringing prices above their high estimates. Participation in the sale came from an international community of bidders, including institutions such as the Museum Art Center Buenos Aires (MACBA), as well as several successful online purchasers.
The top price was achieved for Julie Mehretu’s, Untitled 1, an iconic painting from the Ethiopian artist's intricate and energetic oeuvre, which comfortably exceeded the high estimate in selling for $1,022,500, a new record for the artist at auction (est. $600/800,000). The striking and colorfulUntitled (Three Tier Perspective) by Mark Grotjahn that appeared on the catalogue cover fetched $782,500, among the highest prices achieved by the artist’s works at auction (est. $600/800,000). Three works by Gerhard Richter were also major highlights, with each selling well above its high estimate. Abstraktes Bild (763-9) from 1992 sold for $506,500 (est. $300/400,000) with a similar painting from the same year, Abstraktes Bild (763-5) fetching the same price - more than double the low estimate (est. $200/300,000). Betty, a Richter lithograph from 1991, fetched $458,500 - three times the high estimate and a record for a photographic work by the artist at auction (est. $100/150,000).
