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The traditional lines between galleries and auction houses are blurring. An unprecedented move that is likely to send shock waves through the art industry, three top galleries are joining forces to sell the storied collection of late philanthropist Donald Marron. While it was widely assumed that Christie’s or Sotheby’s would handle the estate, particularly after news surfaced that the auction houses were scrambling to submit proposals last month, the collection will instead be sold jointly by Pace, Gagosian, and Acquavella.
This treasure like impressive art collection, which includes two major Picassos, as well as works by Mark Rothko, Cy Twombly and Willem de Kooning will be shown in New York exhibition in the spring, dividing the works into three significant phases of Mr. Marron’s collecting: the 1960s and 1970s; as a trustee of the Museum of Modern Art since 1975; and in building the collection of the investment bank Paine Webber while he was chief executive between 1980 and 2000.
Marron was a fixture of the New York art world for decades, and was a supporter and board member of the Museum of Modern Art. After his death in December, his vast collection became the subject of an intense competition between auction houses and galleries.
Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and Phillips had each guaranteed the collector’s widow, Catie Marron, at least $300 million for the estate, according to the Journal, but it was ultimately the late collector’s personal history with the gallerists behind the three-way collaboration that helped decide the consignment.
The decision may have also been partly rooted in changing attitudes toward public auctions. Private gallery sales allow for quicker, more discreet sales that are not subject to the potential volatility of selling at auction.
The galleries will organize the collection into a three-pronged exhibition covering three distinct eras of Marron’s collecting that will open in the spring, with many of the pieces available for sale in the interim. The exhibition will coincide with the TEFAF New York Spring and Frieze New York fairs, as well as the spring auction season, and will be documented in an accompanying book from Phaidon.
Representatives from the auction houses either offered no comment on the galleries’ announcement, or declined to respond.
As Marc Glimcher pointed out in a news release on Wednesday, the gallery-led project will “celebrate the lifelong relationships that can develop between collectors and dealers, and the role our galleries have played in supporting Marron’s vision.”
The news shocked many in the art world who had expected one of the auction houses would win the consignment.
If you wish to leatn more about the collection, please contact Karolina Blasiak: k.blasiak@rosemont-mc.com