Billionaire woos Asian collectors with US$35 million de Kooning at Art Basel Hong Kong
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s 1975 painting, which sold for US$517,000 at 1987 auction, will be among highlights at international fair from March 29 to 31
Billionaire Paul Allen, a co-founder of Microsoft Corp, plans to part with a trophy from his prized art collection.
A vibrant abstract painting by Willem de Kooning, Untitled XII, will be among the highlights of Art Basel Hong Kong, an international fair that runs from March 29 to 31.
Priced at US$35 million, the canvas will be offered by Levy Gorvy Gallery.
Asian billionaires have been snapping up Western masterpieces at an accelerating pace.
China is the second largest marketplace for art after the United States, according to an annual art market report.
Collectors from South Korea and China have bought at least 10 major de Kooning paintings in the past decade, according to Brett Gorvy, a co-founder of the gallery and former chairman of Christie’s post-war and contemporary art.
Billionaire collectors such as Allen often prune their art holdings to finance new purchases.
“This sale is part of normal course of business for a collector like Paul,” said Alexa Rudin, a spokeswoman at Vulcan, Allen’s family office that manages his business and charitable interests and whose staff includes 15 art experts.