“Great artists need great clients,” said I. M. Pie once upon a time who died at the age of 102 back in May this year. Now, it is known that I. M. Pie’s pieces from his collection will go up for auction at the Christie’s. In their 72-year-old marriage with wife Eileen, the couple collected diverse works from different artists and Christie’s has been trusted to auction a majority of those works.
There are 59 pieces in total that will go up for auction which are estimated to be $25 million altogether. Works such as Untitled 4 and Untitled 5 are expected to be the highest-priced pieces at the auction which were actually gifted by Pei’s wife to him. These works are estimated to raise $8 million and $5 million respectively.
Liane Pei, I. M. Pie’s daughter, said in a release that “Annalee and Barnett Newman, along with friends such as Anthony Caro, Isamu Noguchi, and Pierre and Tana Matisse, were often invited to our home. A tremendously accomplished chef and consummate hostess, my mother was always ready with a delicious home-cooked meal, which my father was equally ready to match with the perfect bottle of wine. My parents cherished these friendships,”.
Talking about their relationship with Artist Wou-Ki, Liane said that “Whenever we were in Paris, we would visit Zao Wou-ki, whom I always referred to as ‘Uncle Wou-ki,’ to see his latest paintings.”
“The Pei name is one that resonates around the world, integrated into the landscape of the dozens of cities that feature a Pei-designed art museum, concert hall, university, hospital, office tower or civic building. We are looking forward to sharing this collection with our clients and the public on a global scale,” said Marc Porter, Christie’s chairman of the Americas, in a statement on the auction of I. M. Pie’s collection.