October 28, 2011 Contact: Erin McAndrew +1.212.636.2680 [email protected] Melissa Abernathy +1.212.636.2680 [email protected] CHRISTIE’S TO SELL PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF JOHN W. KLUGE TO BENEFIT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY STUDENTS PROCEEDS TO FULFILL KLUGE’S $400 MILLION PLEDGE TO COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY TO FUND STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS; LARGEST GIFT EVER TO A SINGLE UNIVERSITY EXCLUSIVELY FOR STUDENT AID IMPORTANT SCULPTURES BY MOORE, MAILLOL TO BE OFFERED IN IMPRESSIONIST & MODERN EVENING SALE ON NOVEMBER 1 RARE ROMAN, EGYPTIAN SCULPTURES TO LEAD ANTIQUITIES SALE DECEMBER 7 HENRY MOORE (1898-1986) LARGE EGYPTIAN BRONZE CAT Figure in Shelter (1985) Third Intermediate Period, Dynasty XXI-XXII (1070-712 BC) Estimate: $1,500,000-2,000,000 Estimate $400,000-600,000 New York – Christie’s is honored to announce it has been selected to present the sale of Property from the Collection of John W. Kluge Sold to Benefit Columbia University, a large and wide-ranging collection of artwork, furniture and decorative arts that will be offered for sale in several major auctions, starting with four important sculptures by Henry Moore and Aristide Maillol in the Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale on November 1, and several Egyptian and Roman works in the Antiquities sale December 7, both in New York. The collection being offered at Christie’s is part of a $400 million gift from Mr. Kluge to Columbia University. Earmarked exclusively for student scholarships, it is the largest gift ever devoted to student aid at a single institution of higher education in the U.S. Assembled over the course of several decades, Mr. Kluge’s impressive collection is a fitting tribute to the broad liberal arts education he received at Columbia University, which he attended on scholarship and graduated from in 1937. “We are extremely pleased to offer Henry Moore‟s Figure in a Shelter, a powerful culmination of the artist‟s decades- long exploration of „Internal/External‟ sculpture, as part of our very strong Impressionist and Modern art sales this fall,” said Conor Jordan, Head of Christie’s Impressionist and Modern Art Department in New York. “Additionally, Mr. Kluge‟s fine bronzes by Maillol epitomize the artist‟s masterful blending of classical and modern sculptural styles in his homage to both idealized and natural beauty.” “Christie‟s is very proud of our long-standing relationship with Mr. Kluge, which dates back to our first sale of his antiquities collection, the Morven Collection of Ancient Art, in June 2004, which performed well beyond our estimates. That sale was followed by a successful sale of more than 500 of his fine and decorative art objects in December 2005. We look forward to achieving similar success on behalf of Columbia University‟s student scholarship fund with Mr. Kluge‟s remaining art and furniture collection,” he added. In addition, Christie’s International Real Estate has been appointed to sell Mr. Kluge’s prominent Palm Beach estate, with proceeds to go to the same Columbia student scholarship fund. The property is listed at $59,000,000. ABOUT JOHN W. KLUGE Named the richest man in America three times by Forbes magazine, John W. Kluge was best known for his business acumen and the fortune he earned as founder and chairman of Metromedia. His lasting legacy, however, will be felt in the arts and education, given the sheer size of his gift to Columbia’s student scholarship program and the vastness of his art collection. From a young age, he recognized the value of an education. At age 14, he moved from his German immigrant parents’ home in Detroit, Mich., into his teacher’s home to dedicate himself more fully to his education. He devoted his formative years to building a strong foundation of learning that would inform so many of the successes that he achieved in his lifetime. This focus and drive led him to Columbia University, where he earned a scholarship and began a lifelong relationship with the university. The liberal arts grounding Mr. Kluge received there paid dividends as he eventually amassed an impressive and varied collection of art and decorative art objects. He continually demonstrated his dedication to education and the liberal arts throughout his career, lifestyle and philanthropy. It is therefore appropriate that the university that helped shape Mr. Kluge’s future would be the place that he decided to give back the most. “If it hadn‟t been for Columbia, my path would have been entirely different in life. Columbia gave me an opportunity, and the only way you can really repay that opportunity is for you to help someone else,” Kluge said at his 90th birthday celebration. 2 ―For all who knew and admired John Kluge,‖ said Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger, ―it is clear that the purpose of this auction speaks directly to what he valued most: the fundamental importance of education; the responsibility of institutions of higher learning to open their doors to people from every socio-economic background; and the duty of those who have succeeded in life to give back and support those who need it. It is a fitting tribute to the memory of a great man whose enormous generosity ensures that generations of young people will be able to benefit from a Columbia education regardless of their family‟s income.‖ COLLECTION HIGHLIGHTS – MODERN SCULPTURE Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale Christie’s New York, November 1, 2011 Mr. Kluge’s appreciation for the arts was expansive, but his tastes were highly selective, as demonstrated by the four excellent sculptures included in the November 1 Evening Sale. Among the last works created by the prolific and widely collected Henry Moore (1898-1986) is Figure in a Shelter, conceived in 1983 and cast in his lifetime (pictured page one; estimate: $1,500,000- 2,500,000). This 72-inch piece and two much larger 25-foot versions are the culmination of the theme he referred to as ―Internal and External Forms,‖ which Moore developed throughout his career. They were inspired in part by his impressions of Londoners in the Underground system taking shelter from the German aerial bombings during World War II, and in part by his fascination with armor and its protective function. They also echo his mother-and-child sculptures. One cast of Large Figure in a Shelter was installed in 1990 in Guernica, Spain, the town obliterated by shelling during the Spanish Civil War, evoking his 1940s drawings of those Londoners during the War and standing as a lasting plea for peace. Another impressive piece from the collection was originally commissioned as a war memorial, Aristide Maillol’s (1861-1944) Monument à Port- Vendres, conceived in 1921 and cast in lead circa 1975 (pictured at right; estimate $1,200,000- 1,800,000). Three French villages commissioned Maillol to create memorials for their fallen soldiers, and this one, originally submitted as a reclining nude Venus holding out a palm frond to the dead soldiers, was rejected by the wife of the mayor of Port-Vendres for its frank sensuality. Maillol reworked it as a draped figure, which was happily accepted. A cast lead version is on view today in Port-Vendres. The stylized proportions and elegant drapery reflect the influence of proto-classical traditions of French Renaissance artists as well as his interest in antique statuary of ancient Greece and Rome, where he had 3 traveled extensively. His friend the poet Marc LaFarge observed in 1925 that Maillol ―is to sculpture what Cezanne was to painting.‖ A pair of bronze life-size female figures, L‟Éte (pictured at left; estimate: $700,000-900,000) and Flore (pictured at right; estimate: $600,000-900,000), are closely related. The former belongs to a group of four statues created by Maillol between 1910 and 1912 for the renowned Russian art collector, Ivan Morosov, to adorn the corners of a neoclassical music room in his Moscow villa. Commonly known as Les Saisons, the group is less an allegory of the seasons than response to a mural depicting the myth of Psyche painted in the room by Maurice Denis in 1906. Echoing Psyche’s mythical transformation from human to immortal, these figures gave Maillol an opportunity to juxtapose the ideal of human feminine beauty with that of the divine. L‟Éte represented a woman in the fullness of her fertility, contrasted with the younger figure representing spring. This version of Flore, the goddess of spring and flowers, was likely created after the commission for Morosov, but she was a favorite subject of Maillol’s, representing an allegory of a lithe, adolescent young woman. In the Impressionist and Modern Art Day Sale, November 2, will be three bronzes by the Italian sculptor, Giacomo Manzu (1908-1991): Cardinale, Guantanamera, and Dopo la Danza (estimates: $80,000- 350,000), as well as a set of sculpted bronze gates, titled Portes, conceived in 1971 and cast in 1982, signed by Joan Miró (1893-1983) (unique; estimate: $150,000-250,000). OTHER HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE COLLECTION In addition to these four pieces of Modern sculpture, the collection encompasses paintings, drawings, and sculpture across diverse categories, including Antiquities, Old Masters, Impressionist and Modern Art, Post-War and Contemporary Art, and various Latin American, Russian, Asian, and Aboriginal Art, plus large holdings in furniture, silver and decorative arts. A dedicated sale will take place in 2012, and key works from the collection will be sold in specialized sales from November 2011 through mid-2012. Antiquities Sale Christie’s New York, December 7, 2011 Although much of Mr. Kluge’s extensive collection in ancient Greek, Roman and 4 Egyptian art was sold in the Morven Collection of Ancient Art at Christie’s in June 2004, he kept several sculptures and vases on display in his homes in Palm Beach, Fla., and in St.