Uneven Collection

Talk story about Sotheby's auction of 56 well-publicized paintings&drawings-most of them Impressionist-from the estate of the late Florence Gould, who was the daughter-in-law of Jay Gould, one of the great financiers of the 19th century. The audience consisted of 2000 well-headed art ma ens. None of the buyers were willing to be identified. There were perhaps 200 serious bidders. John L. Marion, the auctioneer, opened the bidding for Vincent van Gogh's "Landscape With Rising Sun." 2 1/2 minutes later it was sold to a telephone bidder for $9,9000,000 dollars-a record for the artist&the 3rd highest price ever paid for a painting at auction. On the up side, a Roman river scene by Corot&2 delicate Fantin-Latour flower paintings went for well above their pre-sale estimate. On the down side, a Goya sketch, a Manet still-life&a Pissarro landscape weren't sold because the bids didn't meet the reserve prices. A few days later, writer went to Sotheby's to talk with David Nash, the house's director of fine art, who had supervised the preparation of the catalogue. "There was very little museum interest, "he said, telling why. Heinz Berggruen, a retired art dealer&private collector stopped by to pick up a Seurat sketch he'd bought, at a bargain price. "The collection as a whole was quite average, "Nash explained. "It's almost as if the best of her pictures were brilliant mistakes... This was a lady who liked to surround herself with pretty pictures... It's an uneven collection because she bought only things she liked... But...we're not selling the Louvre. We did get thirty-two million six hundred thousand dollars."

See the rest of the story at newyorker.com