Auction delivers first chunk of Kluge money

An auction of artwork from the estate of John Kluge, CC ’37, raised almost $5 million for financial aid Tuesday night, giving Columbia the first piece of a $400 million gift that Kluge pledged to the University in 2007.

The auction, which was held at Christie’s, an international company that offers art auctions and private sales, was a larger art sale of impressionist and modern works, which included four pieces from Kluge’s collection.

The rest of his property will be sold in a series of auctions, but according to Melissa Abernathy, a Christie’s spokeswoman, the vast majority of it will be auctioned off in a dedicated sale in 2012.

“The proceeds of all those sales—the art collections, the furnishings, the estates—all of those are going to contribute to the $400 million gift that he committed to in 2007,” Abernathy said.

At Tuesday night’s auction—the first in a series of auctions of Kluge’s property to raise money for Columbia—four pieces of his art collection sold for $4,874,000.

Kluge’s items, sculptures by Aristides Maillol and Henry Moore, were among the highest-valued pieces in the sale, with each valued between $600,000 and $1.8 million. The more than $4.8 million they collectively sold for exceeded the minimum pre-sale estimate of $4,000,000.

Columbia spokesperson Brian Connolly said that Christie’s will keep selling Kluge’s properties over the next several months.

“Proceeds will be transferred to Columbia as they are realized,” he said in a statement.

Roman and Egyptian sculptures that belonged to Kluge will be sold as part of an antiquities sale in December.

Kluge’s $400 million pledge is the largest gift in history to a single university exclusively for student aid.

Half of the total gift will go to Columbia College financial aid. The rest will be split up between graduate student fellowships: $120 million for the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, $30 million for the School of International and Public Affairs, $30 million for the School for the Arts, and $20 million for Columbia Journalism School.

Christie’s sold Kluge’s Virginia estate and part of his antiquities collection in 2004 and 2005 . The sale was successful enough that Kluge consigned all of his property to Christie’s, giving them the ability to auction it.

Kluge was born in Chemnitz, Germany, and came to the U.S. at age eight. He attended Columbia College on a scholarship and graduated with a degree in economics. He was named the richest man in America three times and was best known as the founder and chairman of Metromedia. He passed away last year at the age 95.

karla.jimenez@columbiaspectator.com