On Saturday, fundsters and other art collectors will have their chance to snap up pieces of art that once adorned Neuberger Berman's [see profile] walls. TheStreet's Maria Woehr reports that on Saturday Sotheby's will auction off "460 contemporary paintings, drawings, sculptures and photographs," from the Lehman Brothers collection, some of which came to Lehman when it acquired Neuberger Berman six years ago. (Neuberger became independent in the spring of last year following an employee-led buyout.)

The planned sale, the proceeds of which will go to Lehman's creditors, came to light in June (see The MFWire, 6/4/2010). In July Freeman's revealed that in November it will be auctioning off more than 250 other pieces of Lehman and Neuberger art in Philadelphia (see The MFWire, 7/27/2010). And AFP reports that Christie's will hold another Lehman and Neuberger art sale next Wednesday (September 29) in London.

How well did Lehman and Neuberger do picking artwork, at least from a financial perspective? Both the New York Observer's Alexandra Peers and the New York Post's Rebecca Rosenberg and Chuck Bennett estimate that the companies paid less than $2 million total for the 460 pieces on the block this weekend; TheStreet estimates that the works are now worth between $10 million and $16 million total.

The Observer even notes that that Neuberger's brand appears to be the stronger one to sell under. According to the pub, the auction was first called the Lehman auction, then the Neuberger Berman & Lehman Brothers auction, and now just the Neuberger Berman auction.

TheStreet offers pictures of 10 of the works, along with price estimates, while the Observer includes a slideshow. The New Yorker even mentioned the auction, calling the collection "sunny, colorful, and very contemporary." It includes pieces by Damien Hirst, Julie Mehretu, Takashi Murakami and others. 

Edited by: Neil Anderson, Managing Editor


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