Christie's To Sell Ted Turner's Western Art Collection For $20 Million

(MENAFN- USA Art News) Christie's will auction works from the collection of media mogul Ted Turner, who passed away earlier this year at age 87. The collection, focused on Western art, is estimated to achieve approximately $20 million, according to CNN.

A highlight of the sale is Alfred Bierstadt's Yosemite Valley ( 1866 ), a landscape that hung over a fireplace in Turner's Montana ranch. The painting, which depicts a serene, tree-lined lake, was acquired by Turner at Sotheby's in 2003 with a high estimate of $6 million, then considered a significant Bierstadt work to come to auction in two decades. It carries the same $6 million high estimate for the upcoming sale. Bierstadt's current auction record, established in 2008, is $7.3 million.

The collection also includes two Thomas Moran landscapes depicting the Grand Canyon. One of these, The Inner Gorge, Grand Canyon, has a high estimate of $6 million. Moran's auction record, also from 2008, stands at $17.7 million.

The Turner family stated:“These paintings meant a great deal to our dad, not only because of their beauty, but because they reflected so much of what he loved about nature and the outdoors. While it's difficult to part with pieces that were so dear to him, our family takes comfort in knowing they will be appreciated and cherished by others.”

Proceeds from the Christie's sale will benefit the Turner Foundation, whose mission is to“protect and restore the natural systems-air, land, and water-on which all life depends.” Tylee Abbott, Christie's head of American art, commented:“It's an honor to share this amazing collection with the world. The quality and depth is remarkable, with exceptional paintings by Bierstadt and Moran representing the country's lasting love of the American landscape. In the context of Mr. Turner's collection, with the proceeds benefiting his foundation, this takes on even further meaning and will surely resonate with today's great interest in the American West.”

The sale follows a successful auction earlier this year of Western art from the collection of William Koch at Christie's, which achieved over $84 million against a $50 million estimate, setting a record for a single-owner sale of American Western art. This indicates continued strong interest in the genre, despite its often complex historical narratives. Abbott noted to ARTnews earlier this year:“There has long been a very committed group collecting Western art, many of them based in the West. In the last couple of decades there has been an upswell of interest in American art through a combination of bidders based in the West and coastal clients acquiring homes in the West.”

Source: ARTnews

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