NEW YORK (AP) – A. Alfred Taubman, the late billionaire developer and former owner of Sotheby’s auction house, was a boundless art collector whose taste spanned every period, genre and medium, from works of antiquity to contemporary art.
In advance of a series of sales of his 500-piece collection – believed to be worth more than $500 million – Sotheby’s has transformed its building inside and out to give a real sense of its depth and scope.
Three hundred of the works fill the lobby and the entire 10th floor of the building. The dedicated exhibition runs for four days only, from Saturday through Tuesday.
Two floors of the exterior are wrapped in a vinyl material featuring many of the pieces and artists in the collection. The names of Willem de Kooning, Pablo Picasso, Mark Rothko, Alberto Giacometti and others are splashed across the surface in blue lettering reminiscent of the Viennese Succession-style Taubman cherished.
Long banners with images of the paintings hang from the 10th floor into the lobby.