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Christie's to Auction Microsoft Co-founder Allen's $1bn-plus Art Collection

The art collection of late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen is estimated to be worth more than $1 billion Steve DYKES GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File
The art collection of late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen is estimated to be worth more than $1 billion Steve DYKES GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File
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Christie's to Auction Microsoft Co-founder Allen's $1bn-plus Art Collection

The art collection of late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen is estimated to be worth more than $1 billion Steve DYKES GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File
The art collection of late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen is estimated to be worth more than $1 billion Steve DYKES GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File

Christie's announced plans on Thursday to auction the art collection of late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, which it estimated to be worth more than $1 billion.

The November sale of more than 150 pieces spanning 500 years of art will be "the largest and most exceptional art auction in history," Christie's said in a statement.

The works will include "La montagne Sainte-Victoire" by French painter Paul Cezanne, valued at more than $100 million, the auction house said.

It is holding the auction with the late billionaire's estate. Christie's said all proceeds will go to charitable causes, as per the wishes of Allen, who was an avid art collector, innovator and philanthropist.

Allen, who died in 2018 at the age of 65, co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates in 1975. Together, they came up with the PC operating system that made a fortune for the US technology giant.

Allen left the company in 1983, due to health problems and a deteriorating relationship with Gates, who remained in charge of Microsoft until 2000.

The auction record for a private collection was set this spring by the US couple Harry and Linda Macklowe, with $922 million fetched in auctions conducted by Sotheby's.

Other than the work by Cezanne, the Allen collection features a work entitled "Small False Start" by American painter Jasper Johns, valued at more than $50 million, The New York Times reported.

Christie's did not detail what else is in the collection, but a traveling exhibit in 2016 gave a glimpse of the richness of the Allen art trove.

It features works by Monet, Manet, Klimt and others.

This year is shaping up as one of the biggest ever in the art market.

Besides the Macklowe auction, an Andy Warhol portrait of Marilyn Monroe sold in May for $195 million -- a record for a piece of 20th-century art.

Christie’s CEO Guillaume Cerutti said the Allen auction will be like no other.

"The inspirational figure of Paul Allen, the extraordinary quality and diversity of works, and the dedication of all proceeds to philanthropy, create a unique combination that will make the sale of the Paul G. Allen Collection an event of unprecedented magnitude," Cerutti said.

“To Paul, art was both analytical and emotional. He believed that art expressed a unique view of reality –- combining the artist’s inner state and inner eye –- in a way that can inspire us all," said Jody Allen, the executor of the estate.

"His collection reflects the diversity of his interests, with their own mystique and beauty."

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Landmark Nepal Survey Estimates Nearly 400 Elusive Snow Leopards

A snow leopard walks in its enclosure at the RZSS Highland Wildlife Park near Kincraig Scotland, Britain, February 12, 2016. (Reuters)
A snow leopard walks in its enclosure at the RZSS Highland Wildlife Park near Kincraig Scotland, Britain, February 12, 2016. (Reuters)
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Landmark Nepal Survey Estimates Nearly 400 Elusive Snow Leopards

A snow leopard walks in its enclosure at the RZSS Highland Wildlife Park near Kincraig Scotland, Britain, February 12, 2016. (Reuters)
A snow leopard walks in its enclosure at the RZSS Highland Wildlife Park near Kincraig Scotland, Britain, February 12, 2016. (Reuters)

Nepal's first nationwide survey of the threatened snow leopard estimated nearly 400 of the elusive big cats in the Himalayan nation, wildlife officials said Tuesday.

Habitat loss, climate change and poaching have greatly impacted snow leopard populations across Asia, listed as a "vulnerable" species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

But the survey offers a rare shot of hope, confirming numbers lie at the upper end of the previous estimates.

With thick grey fur dotted with dark spots, and large paws that act as natural snow shoes, the species are difficult to spot and quick to hide, making field research challenging.

"This is a historic step in Nepal's snow leopard conservation journey," Haribhadra Acharya, senior ecologist at the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, told AFP.

"This is the first time we are getting authentic data with the great effort of researchers," he said.

An estimated total of 397 snow leopards were counted, determined through motion-sensor camera and genetic analysis in seven key areas.

It offers the most comprehensive national estimate of snow leopards -- also known as the "ghosts of mountains" -- previously estimated by the IUCN to be in the range of 301-400.

Snow leopards are the least studied of the big cats globally due to their low population density and remote mountain habitats they inhabit.

"Nepal has only two percent of the size of the snow leopard habitats globally, (yet) we host 10 percent of the total estimated population", Ghana S Gurung, country representative of WWF Nepal, told AFP.

"More importantly, we are the second smallest country in terms of snow leopard habitat size after Bhutan, (but) we hold the fourth largest population," he added.

The Snow Leopard Trust, a US-based conservation group, says the exact total number is not known but that "there may be as few as 3,920 and probably no more than 6,390" across 12 countries in Asia.

Although conservationists have welcomed the new population estimate, many remain concerned about the threats posed by climate change and infrastructure development.

"New road construction, installation of transmission lines, and increased human activity in search of herbs are disrupting snow leopards' habitats in the Himalayas," said Acharya, one of the lead researchers.

Experts say the increasing avalanches in the mountains -- where climate change is exacerbating extremes of weather patterns -- are another threat.

Nepal has been praised worldwide for its efforts to protect wildlife which have helped several species, including tigers and rhinos, to return from the brink of local extinction.

The country's conservation efforts have helped to triple its tiger population to 355 since 2010 and to increase one-horned rhinoceros from around 100 in the 1960s to 752 in 2021.