Lehman's corporate art collection to go under the hammer

The auction house Christie's has published the catalogue for the sale of "artwork and ephemera" collected by the former bosses of Lehman Brothers, which will go under the hammer on 29 September, to mark the second anniversary of the firm's collapse.

Among the 300 lots on offer as part of Lehman's corporate art collection from Christies, there are pieces, which might set the hearts of art lovers a flutter. British artist Matthew Ritchie’s abstract oil & marker work is slated to fetch roughly £70,000 and £100,000; a painting by Gary Hume, titled ‘Madonna‘ has been listed for over £80,000, and a drawing by Jim Hodges ‘All To

One‘ is expected to touch the price mark between £30,000 and £50,000.
Some of the pieces are rarities. Among those on offer include the late 19th century ornate giltwood overmantel mirror (£1,000-£1,500); and two Chinese barrel-shaped garden seats (£1,500-£2,000). There are dozens of Victorian prints plus several sets of books.

Administrator PricewaterhouseCoopers expects the event to raise £2m, just a dent in the billions sought by its European creditors. An auction of artworks possessed by Lehman in the US will happen at Sotheby's in New York in the last week of September. This auction event boasts a quality contemporary collection, with artworks from Anish Kapoor, Damien Hirst, John Baldessari, John Currin, Richard Prince, Cindy Sherman, Roni Horn and Gerhard Richter.

The events offer a glimpse into the mores of the failed banking world that has been collecting excellent art for several decades both as an investment and to display wealth in its offices. Commerzbank sold a Giacometti sculpture earlier this year. It had inherited it when the bank took over another financial institution a year earlier.

Deutsche Bank has in possession one of Europe's best collections. RBS is believed to boast of the largest corporate collection of art in the UK, owning over 2,200 pieces, including work by David Hockney, Patrick Caulfield and LS Lowry.