Lehman art auctioned; creditors to be paid off from proceeds

The art work amassed an amount significantly higher than expectations; however the sum is still miniscule as against the $600 billion that the collapsed bank owes its creditors.

More auctions on the anvil
The art work from Lehman's wide-ranging European collection is to be auctioned at Christie's in London on Wednesday.

"While the Lehman name certainly attracted a great deal of attention, the people who bid today participated because they knew it was good art," said Meyer.

"We look forward to presenting what is a fascinating glimpse into the history of what was a giant of the financial world," said Benjamin Clark, director of corporate collections at Christie's London.

More Lehman art will be sold at Freeman’s in Philadelphia later this year.

Saturday’s auction saw an untitled 2001 piece by Julie Mehretu fetch $1,022,500. The price placed Mehretu in the record books. Sixteen other artists also set records at the auction.

Works by Gerhard Richter, Liu Ye, Mark Grotjahn and Neo commanded strong prices.

Damien Hirst's 'We've Got Style (The Vessel Collection - Blue/Green),' however failed to sell.

The work was expected to be auctioned for an amount anywhere between $800,000 and $1.2 million.

Worldwide Interest
In all, 83 percent or 118 of the 142 lots put under the hammer found buyers. Several of the successful bidders bid online.

“You had curiosity from the global financial community,” Tobias Meyer, Sotheby’s worldwide head of contemporary art said of the worldwide interest generated in the auction.

“You had attention from Wall Street, but Wall Street is not the art world,” added Meyer.

Among others, the Buenos Aires Museum Art Centre was a prominent buyer at the auction. Many pieces were acquired by asset manager Neuberger Berman also.

The Buenos Aires Museum bagged 3 works including that of Robert Longo's ink-and-charcoal depiction of a rose for a whopping $92,500.

"While the Lehman name certainly attracted a great deal of attention, the people who bid today participated because they knew it was good art," said Meyer.

The proceeds from the auction will be used to pay off Lehman's creditors.

The New York-based Lehman, the world’s fourth largest investment bank as on Sept. 15, 2008, had assets of $639 billion when it filed for bankruptcy.

It earned the dubious distinction of being the biggest bank to file for bankruptcy in the history of the United States.