Sotheby’s to sell art collection of late owner A. Alfred Taubman

The massive art collection of the late shopping mall billionaire A. Alfred Taubman features more than 500 works including valuable paintings by De Kooning, Modigliani and Gainsborough. Starting in November, the collection will be sold off by the very auction house that Taubman once ran.

Sotheby’s announced on Friday that it will sell Taubman’s private collection in a series of four dedicated auctions in New York that will take place November to January. The auction house said that it has valued the collection in excess of $500 million, “making it the most valuable private collection ever offered at auction.”

The $500-million-plus estimate would surpass the record-breaking $477 million that arch-rival Christie’s saw with the Yves Saint Laurent collection in 2009.

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As the head of Sotheby’s, beginning in 1983, Taubman was key in reversing the auction house’s ailing fortunes, and helped take the company public. But he also served jail time, starting in 2002, following a price-fixing scandal that rocked the auction industry.

As a real-estate magnate, Taubman made his fortune in large part from developing high-end shopping malls through his company, Taubman Centers. The Beverly Center in Beverly Hills and the Mall at Short Hills in New Jersey were among his crown jewel properties.

Taubman, who died in April at age 91, had far-ranging tastes when it came to art and his collection ranges from pieces by old masters such as Raphael to 20th century works by Mark Rothko.

Among the notable works to be auctioned off are a 1976 De Kooning canvas, “Untitled XXI,” which Sotheby’s estimates will go for $25 million to $35 million. A Modigliani painting from around 1919 titled “Portrait de Paulette Jourdain” is estimated in the same range.

An 18th century Gainsborough portrait titled “The Blue Page” is estimated to sell between $3 million and $4 million.

Sotheby’s said proceeds from the sale will be used to settle estate tax obligations and fund the A. Alfred Taubman Foundation, a philanthropic organization.

In 2002, Taubman was sentenced to jail after being convicted for his role in a price-fixing scheme as the head of Sotheby’s. The auction house was found to have colluded with Christie’s to raise the commissions paid by sellers.

Taubman, who served several months in prison, left Sotheby’s in 2005. His son, Robert S. Taubman, sits on the company’s board of directors.

For Sotheby’s, the consignment of its late owner’s art collection would seem like a slam dunk. But the New York Times reported Thursday that Sotheby’s had to compete with Christie’s for the sale.

“It was very, very close,” Christopher Tennyson, a Taubman family spokesman, told the newspaper.

Twitter: @DavidNgLAT

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