Former Lehman Brothers Inc. CEO Dick Fuld and his wife, Kathy Fuld, may not have the best market-timing -- at least when it comes to art.
In Philadelphia over the weekend, 238 modern and contemporary art pieces that formerly donned the walls at the storied Lehman Brothers building in downtown Manhattan were
auctioned off, raising $1.34 million -- about $600,000 more than was expected -- that will go toward paying off Lehman creditors.
About a year ago, the Fulds had less luck. Four days after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Christie's International in New York
announced the auctioning of a collection of 16 rare Abstract Expressionist drawings that reportedly belonged to the Fulds. The works were expected to fetch $20 million; however, when all was said and done,
less than three-fourths of the drawings were sold, and the auction raised $13.5 million.
But the success of the most recent auction may have had nothing to do with the freer flow of money. From
The Wall Street Journal: "Don Stanton, a Boston wealth manager who sits on the board of the Rhode Island School of Design, credited the sale's 'crazily low' estimates but said the sale also showed 'certain people would still like to buy anything from Lehman.' "
Freeman's, the Philly auction house, is set to auction off the next set of Lehman's 650-piece total collection Dec. 6. Perhaps the Fulds would be wise to piggy-back this next time around. -
Sara Behunek
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