Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's art collection fetches record $1.5 billion at Christie's: "The biggest sale in auction history"
CBSN
Paintings and sculptures from the collection of late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen were auctioned off for a historic $1.5 billion Wednesday, Christie's auction house said, with records set for works by Van Gogh, Cezanne, Gauguin, Seurat and Klimt.
Calling it "the biggest sale in auction history," Christie's said the collection featured diverse artwork spanning five centuries. The auction house said 60 artworks pulled in a total of $1,506,386,000, "establishing the Allen collection as the most valuable private collection in history."
Five paintings entered the exclusive club of works of art sold for more than $100 million at auction, the New York auction house said, in a sign that the art market continues to grow despite economic uncertainties related to the war in Ukraine and inflation.
President Biden on Monday signed into law a defense bill that authorizes significant pay raises for junior enlisted service members, aims to counter China's growing power and boosts overall military spending to $895 billion despite his objections to language stripping coverage of transgender medical treatments for children in military families.
It's Christmas Eve, and Santa Claus is suiting up for his annual voyage from the North Pole to households around the world. In keeping with decades of tradition, the North American Aerospace Command, or NORAD, will once again track Santa's journey to deliver gifts to children before Christmas 2024, using an official map that's updated consistently to show where he is right now.