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Art auction a masterpiece
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November 11, 1997: 11:38 a.m. ET
Christies sale of Victor and Sally Ganz collection brings in $206 million
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - An auction of 20th -century art by Britain's Christies International Plc set a record for a single-owner auction.
Christies sold off in New York Monday parts of the Victor and Sally Ganz collection for $206.5 million, the highest ever for a collection with a single owner. The Ganzes paid only about $2 million in total to acquire the paintings.
The results surprised Christies, which earlier estimated that the sale of the modern art holdings would total only $125 million.
"It was a dream of an evening," said a Christies spokesperson.
The Ganzes held the largest privately-owned collection of Picassos in the United States and their entire holdings were built up over a period of half a century. Much of their collection had been shown in museum exhibitions.
After the death of Sally Ganz earlier this year, her four children decided to put some of the modern masterpieces of their collection up for sale. Victor Ganz died in 1987.
Besides Picasso, other artists favored by the couple were Frank Stella, Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns.
As expected, the Picasso paintings brought in most of the total sales. The Spanish painter's "Le Reve (Dream)" was sold to an anonymous buyer for $48.4 million, the second highest price ever paid for one of his works.
Picasso's "Women from Algier" was sold for $31.9 million, "Woman Seated in a Armchair" brought in $24.7 million, and "Naked Woman Reclining" sold for $14.6 million.
Jasper Johns' "Corpse and Mirror," a 1974 diptych in his famous crosshatch style, sold for more than twice estimates at $8.3 million.
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