The chairman’s art collection is coming to Sotheby’s.
苏富比拍卖行(Sotheby’s)获得了其前总裁的艺术收藏品拍卖权。
After a heated, monthslong contest with its archrival Christie’s, Sotheby’s announced on Thursday that it had won the right to sell the estate of one of its former leaders, A. Alfred Taubman, the philanthropist and shopping mall magnate whose large and varied art collection, from old master classics to Modernist masterpieces, could be one of the most valuable private art collections ever brought to auction.
经过与主要对手佳士得拍卖行(Christie’s)数月的激烈竞争，周四，苏富比宣布获得了前总裁A·艾尔弗雷德·陶布曼(A. Alfred Taubman)的遗产拍卖权。陶布曼是一位慈善家兼购物中心大亨，他的艺术收藏品丰富多样——从绘画大师的经典作品到现代主义杰作——可能是这家拍卖行迄今为止得到的最有价值的私人艺术收藏。
The auction house estimated that the sales, planned for November and January, would bring in more than $500 million, placing it in the ranks of the Yves St. Laurent sale that raised $477 million in 2009 at Christie’s in Paris.
苏富比计划在今年11月和明年1月举办这些藏品的拍卖会，预计拍卖总额会超过五亿美元，与伊夫·圣罗兰(Yves St. Laurent)的遗产拍卖会旗鼓相当，后者是佳士得拍卖行2009年在巴黎举办的，拍卖额达到4.77亿美元。
While the collection does not include a standout trophy like the 1955 “Les Femmes d’Alger (Version ‘O’)” by Picasso that sold for $179.4 million at Christie’s in May, it is broad and deep, with 500 pieces in all, including furniture, many of them created by coveted names like Mark Rothko, Amedeo Modigliani and Raphael. Several of the most expensive pieces, such as Willem de Kooning’s “Untitled XXI” from 1976, with an estimate of $25 million to $35 million, have never been publicly auctioned.
虽然藏品中没有毕加索的《阿尔及尔女人（O版）》(Les Femmes d’Alger [Version ‘O’])那种特别突出的作品——今年5月，毕加索1955年的这件作品在佳士得拍卖行以1.794亿美元售出——但是这些藏品广博深远，共有500件，包括家具，其中很多家具出自马克·罗思科(Mark Rothko)、阿梅代奥·莫迪利亚尼(Amedeo Modigliani)和拉斐尔(Raphael)等令人仰慕的大师之手。最昂贵的几件作品从未公开拍卖过，比如威廉·德库宁(Willem de Kooning)1976年创作的《无题XXI》(Untitled XXI)，估价为2500万美元至3500万美元。
For Mr. Taubman, who died in April at 91, the sale represents a from-the-grave lift to an auction house he had transformed from a struggling business into a global powerhouse during the 22 years he was the principal owner. In recent years, however, Sotheby’s has been trailing Christie’s in sales volumes.
今年4月，91岁的陶布曼去世。有22年时间，陶布曼是这家拍卖行的主要所有者。在此期间，他把它从一个垂死挣扎的公司变成全球顶尖的拍卖行。不过，近些年，在拍卖额方面，苏富比落后于佳士得，所以这次拍卖对苏富比来说简直具有起死回生的意义。
Yet even as he transformed Sotheby’s, and the art market, with an aggressive retailing flair, Mr. Taubman was also associated with a less glorious period in the auction house’s history. In 2001, he was convicted in a price-fixing scheme with Christie’s that was said to have swindled customers out of more than $100 million. He served nine and a half months in prison.
不过，尽管陶布曼凭借积极进取的零售天分改变了苏富比和艺术市场，但他也与该拍卖行的一段不光彩的历史有关。2001年，他因与佳士得合谋设定垄断价格而获罪，入狱九个半月。据说，客户们因价格垄断被诈取了一亿多美元。
Winning the Taubman estate comes at a pivotal moment for Sotheby’s and its new president and chief executive, Tad Smith. He took over in March, promising shareholders that he would be judicious in the use of guarantees, the practice by auction houses of promising a seller a minimum price on a work or a collection. The house, or an outside guarantor, is on the hook if bidding falls short of that price.
对苏富比及其新总裁兼首席执行官塔德·史密斯(Tad Smith)来说，获得陶布曼的遗产拍卖权犹如赶上一场及时雨。今年3月，史密斯上任时向股东们承诺，他会谨慎使用担保金。担保金是拍卖公司就某件作品或收藏品向卖家担保的最低价。如果最终售价低于担保价，拍卖公司或外部担保人将被套牢。
The Taubman estate is fully guaranteed as part of the Sotheby’s deal, a sign of the lengths to which the house went to avoid the embarrassment of losing a prized collection to a rival. The company would not reveal the minimum amount that had been guaranteed for the collection.
根据苏富比的协议，陶布曼的遗产将获得完全担保。这表明，为了避免这批珍贵的藏品落入对手手中而带来的尴尬，苏富比简直不惜血本。苏富比不会透露这批藏品的担保价。
The timing of the first Taubman auction, Nov. 4, is yet another nod to the competition between two houses who have been dueling over consignments and commissions since the 18th century. Only this week, Christie’s had announced it would hold a special, period-spanning sale on Nov. 9, opening its fall auction season. Now Sotheby’s is starting its own season with a flourish a week earlier with the first Taubman sale of 70 works, drawing headlines, buzz and possible sales.
自18世纪以来，苏富比和佳士得就开始了对委托权和佣金展开争夺。定于11月4日举行的第一场陶布曼遗产拍卖会只是两大拍卖行漫长竞争的最新篇章。就在本周，佳士得已经宣布，它将于11月9日举办一场跨越多个时期的特别拍卖会，揭开秋季拍卖季的序幕。现在，苏富比也宣布用一场盛大的拍卖会来揭开自己的秋季拍卖大幕，时间比佳士得还早一周。第一场陶布曼遗产拍卖会将包括70件作品，吸引媒体的关注和公众议论，并可能带动拍卖额。
“It’s a significant collection,” said Stephane C. Connery, an art dealer and adviser who formerly worked at Sotheby’s. “It seems fitting that Sotheby’s would be selling it, and it would be difficult to imagine it going to another venue.”
“这是一批重要藏品，”艺术交易商兼顾问斯特凡纳·C·康纳里(Stephane C. Connery)说。他曾在苏富比工作。“（陶布曼的遗产）由苏富比来拍卖似乎很合适，很难想象它们会落入他人手中。”
The right to sell Mr. Taubman’s estate had by all accounts been hotly contested between the two auction houses with lots of back and forth between Christie’s and Sotheby’s and Mr. Taubman’s family since soon after his death. It would have been quite a blow to Sotheby’s if it had lost the right to sell the collection of a man so long associated with the company and the success it enjoyed in the 1980s and ’90s.
据众人的描述，陶布曼去世后不久，佳士得和苏富比就开始激烈争夺他的遗产拍卖权，分别与陶布曼的家人进行了多次沟通。如果苏富比没有夺得对陶布曼藏品的拍卖权，那么鉴于该拍卖行长期以来与陶布曼关系密切，以及它在20世纪八九十年代获得的成功，对苏富比来说都将是一个重大打击。
Mr. Taubman is credited with recognizing that Sotheby’s was depriving itself of potential profits by mainly marketing to dealers and gallerists, not directly to the broad swath of rich collectors who love to buy art and for whom competing at auction would become another contest in which to cross swords.
陶布曼的功劳在于，他发现当年苏富比主要面向交易商和画廊老板展开营销，而不是直接致力于扩大富有的收藏家客户群，从而失去了潜在利润。那些收藏家喜欢购买艺术品，对他们来说，在拍卖行竞价是另一种交锋。
Sotheby’s became a publicly traded company under Mr. Taubman, and he sold his controlling stake in 2005. After he left, he remained a presence at the auction house, attending sales and exhibitions, and the company hosted a 90th birthday party for him in London.
在陶布曼的领导下，苏富比成为一家上市公司。2005年，他卖掉了自己的控股权。离职后，他依然时常出现在该拍卖行的拍卖会和展览上，该公司还在伦敦为他举办了90岁生日派对。
The association continues to this day: In addition to his son Robert, who is a director of the company, his stepdaughter, Tiffany Dubin, works there.
陶布曼和苏富比的联系一直持续到现在：他的儿子罗伯特(Robert)是该公司的一个主管，他的继女蒂法尼·杜宾(Tiffany Dubin)也在这里工作。
In their battle for the consignment, both Christie’s and Sotheby’s drew up mock catalogs showcasing the art. Their experts visited Mr. Taubman’s residences in Bloomfield Hills, Mich.; Palm Beach, Fla.; Southampton, N.Y.; and New York City to see the works. Sotheby’s made at least two main presentations at its offices in Manhattan to Mr. Taubman’s son William and daughter, Gayle Taubman Kalisman. Robert Taubman recused himself because he is a director. Mr. Smith led the process.
在委托权的争夺战中，佳士得和苏富比都起草了展示那些艺术品的模拟目录。他们的专家前往陶布曼的多处宅邸观看藏品：密歇根州布卢姆菲尔德山、佛罗里达州棕榈滩、纽约州南安普顿还有纽约市。苏富比至少两次在曼哈顿的办公室向陶布曼的儿子威廉(William)和女儿盖尔·陶布曼·卡利斯曼(Gayle Taubman Kalisman)展示重要提案。作为主管之一，罗伯特·陶布曼主动回避。整个过程由史密斯主导。
The negotiations included video presentations and discussions on how the collection would be presented, the valuations that Sotheby’s will put on individual works and how they will be marketed. As happens with most top consignments, Sotheby’s will pay for the artworks to be flown around the world for exhibition to potential buyers. Highlights are due to be exhibited in London, Hong Kong and Los Angeles, and finally sold in New York in the building on York Avenue that Mr. Taubman helped rebuild.
谈判包括视频展示，以及讨论苏富比将如何对藏品进行展示，如何对每件作品的估价和推广。和大部分顶级委托品一样，苏富比将支付把艺术品运往世界各地向潜在买家展示的费用。重点藏品将在伦敦、香港和洛杉矶展出，最后在纽约约克大道上的苏富比总部大楼拍卖，那座大楼是陶布曼帮助重建的。
“It was very, very close,” Christopher Tennyson, a Taubman family spokesman, said. “Both houses made very strong presentations. There were a number of factors that go into a final decision.” Christie’s declined to comment.
“竞争非常激烈，”陶布曼家族的发言人克里斯托弗·坦尼森(Christopher Tennyson)说，“两家公司的提案都很强。有很多因素促使我们做出最终的决定。”佳士得拒绝评论。
Mr. Tennyson said Mr. Taubman started collecting in the 1950s, putting the work on the walls of his homes, and sold very little throughout his lifetime. Robert Mnuchin, a New York gallerist, said Mr. Taubman typically bought art to hang in his home.
坦尼森说，陶布曼从20世纪50年代开始收藏，把作品挂在自家墙上，一生中极少出售。纽约画廊老板罗伯特·穆钦(Robert Mnuchin)说，陶布曼买艺术品都是为了往家里挂。
“This is a very personal collection,” he said, “and it reflects his tastes.”
“这是非常个性化的收藏，”他说，“反映了他的品味。”
Mr. Taubman gave some to museums, and was most closely associated with the Detroit Institute of Arts, where a wing is named after him.
陶布曼把其中一些艺术品赠送给了博物馆，他与底特律美术馆(Detroit Institute of Arts)的关系最密切，该美术馆的一个附馆以他命名。
Mr. Tennyson said any works currently on loan to museums would be included in the sale. Institute officials said that Mr. Taubman has given that museum, or helped it acquire, more than two dozen works and that he had lent another eight. They declined to comment as to the fate of the loaned works now in its possession.
坦尼森说，目前借给博物馆的作品都将纳入拍卖。底特律美术馆的主管们说，该美术馆有20多件作品是陶布曼赠予或在其帮助下获得的，另有八件作品是他借给美术馆的。他们拒绝对借来的那些艺术品的今后的去处做出评论。
Sotheby’s said the proceeds from the sales will be used to settle estate taxes and to fund Mr. Taubman’s private foundation, filling the coffers of an organization that is already a major donor to the University of Michigan and other institutions. Over several decades the foundation has given money to educational, cultural and Jewish institutions as well as to medical organizations and conservation groups. During his life, Mr. Taubman donated more than $150 million to the University of Michigan, where he went to school and where several buildings are named after him.
苏富比说，拍卖收益将被用于支付遗产税，填充陶布曼私人基金会的金库。该基金会已经是密歇根大学(University of Michigan)等机构的主要捐助者。在过去几十年里，该基金会已向教育、文化机构，犹太机构以及医学组织和环保团体捐款。陶布曼一生中向母校密歇根大学捐了1.5亿多美元，该校有几幢楼以他命名。
“The upcoming auctions will unveil Alfred’s extraordinary taste across periods and genres,” Simon Shaw, co-head of Sotheby’s Impressionist and modern art department, said in a statement. “The Taubman name will join such storied American collections as Ford, Gould, Dorrance, Havemeyer and Thannhauser.”
“即将到来的拍卖会将展示艾尔弗雷德的卓越品味，它跨越多个时期，包括多种艺术流派，”苏富比印象派和现代艺术部的联合主管西蒙·肖(Simon Shaw)在一个声明中说，“陶布曼的名字将与福特(Ford)、古尔德(Gould)、多兰斯(Dorrance)、哈夫迈耶(Havemeyer)和坦豪斯(Thannhauser)等美国著名收藏家一同载入史册。”