Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. is seeking bankruptcy-court permission to hire Sotheby's to auction off the art. Sotheby's expects the auction, slated for September 25, 2010 in Manhattan, to bring in more than $10 million, the auction house said today.

Richard Prince

“It truly is a visionary collection,” Lehman art adviser Kelly Wright said. “Many of the works were acquired from cutting-edge and emergent artists who have since evolved into the vanguards of the contemporary art world.”

Included among the artwork is a piece from Hirst's We've Got Style series of cabinet sculptures and Warhol's Young Woman With Halo of Birds, as well works by Maya Lin, Claes Oldenburg and Robert Rauschenberg.

Damien Hirst

Some of the pieces for sale, each of which has a book value of less than $300,000, are from the collection of asset-manager Neuberger Berman, the Lehman unit bought by employees in a management-led buyout last year.

Under the deal for which Lehman is seeking court approval, the investment bank wouldn't pay Sotheby's a commission on each piece sold. Rather, Sotheby's will receive a buyer's premium out of the sale proceeds.

If there's one good thing we can say about Lehman Bros, they do have good taste in art.

From The Wall Street Journal.

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