Most expensive art auction: Late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's art collection earns record $1 billion

The collection has over 150 works of art from artists like Henri-Edmond Cross, Henri Le Sidaner, Van Gogh, Claude Monet and Jasper Johns. 

<I>Image: Art handlers hold a painting titled 'Madonna of the Magnificat' by Alessandro Filipepi, called Sandro Botticelli during a photo call to present the highlights from the estate of the philanthropist and co-founder of Microsoft, Paul G Allen in London, United Kingdom. Photograph: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images</I>

Microsoft co-founder Paul G Allen's art collection has earned $1 billion, the biggest sale of a single-owner art collection in auction history. The auction at auctioneer Christie's headquarters in Manhattan, New York smashed the record on the first evening of the two-day sale.

Among the expensive items that went under the hammer included Georges Seurat's 'Les Poseuses, Ensemble (Petite version)'. The painting, which is one of the few Seurat masterworks still in private hands, was sold for $149 million. 

Paul Cézanne's 'La Montagne Sainte-Victoire' fetched a record $137.8 million. Besides, Vincent Van Gogh's 'Verger Avec Cyprès' smashed the artist's previous record, fetching $117.2 million. Also earning a fortune at the auction was Paul Gauguin's 1899 oil painting on burlap, 'Maternité II' which was sold for $106 million.

<I>Image: A staff member takes a picture of a painting titled 'Tiefes Braun' by Wassily Kandinsky during a photo call to present the highlights from the estate of the philanthropist and co-founder of Microsoft, Paul G. Allen in London. Photograph: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images</I>

In total, the collection on auction has over 150 works of art from artists like Henri-Edmond Cross, Henri Le Sidaner, Van Gogh, Claude Monet and Jasper Johns. 

Paul Allen's art collection dwarfs the previous record set by the Macklowe collection. The art collection of Manhattan real estate mogul Harry Macklowe and his ex-wife Linda was auctioned for $922 million earlier this year. 

Allen passed away in 2018 from septic shock due to complications arising out of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He was 65. According to Allen's will, the proceeds from the collection are to be donated to charity.

<I>Image: Art handlers hold a painting titled 'Queen Anne's Lace Near Kilham' by David Hockney during a photo call to present the highlights from the estate of the philanthropist and co-founder of Microsoft, Paul G Allen in London. Photograph: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images</I>

Allen was a secretive collector who had been seeking out artwork since 1990s. Even though he left Microsoft, the company he co-founded, in 1983, citing health and personal reasons, he continued to invest in art. According to reports, Allen owned way more than the collection that is currently being auctioned at Christie's.