Sotheby's First Home Auction in 20 Years
On May 31 antiques lovers and voyeurs can step inside Virginia billionaire-cum-winemaker Patricia Kluge's 45-room estate in Albermarle County, Va., for a peek at what could be theirs. Kluge's grand estate, Albermarle House, is on the market and she plans to sell off its contents during a two-day auction conducted by Sotheby's on June 8 and 9. Those who buy an auction catalog are welcome to the preview the auction items on-site in May.
"Albemarle House, [Kluge's] collaboration with designer David Easton, rejuvenated high-style country living in the United States in the English tradition, which had declined since the early 20th century," says Sotheby's Worldwide head of French, Continental and English furniture, Alistair Clarke.
Sotheby's will auction Kluge's entire collection within the house, much of which came from top dealers in the U.K. and private collections around the world, including Chinese paintings and works of art, books, sporting guns, jewels, lighting and decorative objects as well as designer gowns by Christian Lacroix and Givenchy. The Kluges' gilded life will be on the auction block.
The home itself is for sale, too. Kluge hasn't had any luck selling the 300-acre estate, which she originally listed for $100 million in October 2009. It's a wonder why she hasn't been more patient with the mansion and its 23,538-square-feet, eight-bedrooms and 13 baths. She recently reduced the price to $48 million after less than a year.
"For the past three decades, building and maintaining this collection have been among my greatest joys," said Kluge. "Now, I look forward to sharing this very extraordinary collection with fellow collectors as I focus my energy on my new home, travel and expanding the business of Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Spectacular Bid Apr 21st 2010 6:30PM
Patricia Kluge was a billionaire? She was married once to John Kluge Sr. but long since divorced and he settlement was more land and property then it was cash. Per the publication Virginia Business with their 2009 edition with 'The Virginia 100' [Richest] they pegged her net worth at just $75M
http://www.virginiabusiness.com/index.php/news/article/the-virginia-100/200334/
While that figure may be overly conservative it would be unrealistic to think her net - even during the height of the bubble economy in this decade - exceeded $400M. Remember the old saying is based in fact: if you want to make a small fortune in wine, you'd better start with a large one.
dc-20008 Apr 23rd 2010 2:41PM
Her divorce settlement was the interest on $1 Billion for 5 years--maybe 7 years. She should have done all right.