gerhard and anna lenz

Lenz Couple Is Selling Art for the Kids

The buzz around the February art auctions is palpable. Sure, Christie's and Phillips de Pury have pulled together some impressive pieces to send under the gavel, but Sotheby's has engineered the real excitement ... with the collection of Gerhard and Anna Lenz. The Lenzes have collected art for half a century, and the Sotheby's auction will constitute the first time they've sold rather than bought. The Lenzes are putting 49 of the 600 works in their collection on the block -- and they're doing it for the kids.

On February 10, 2010, Gerhard and Anna will say goodbye to artwork by Lucio Fontana, Yves Klein and Guenther Uecker. In return for a loss that "hurts," Bloomberg News says of Gerhard, the couple is expected to pull in close to $20 million, sans commissions. Well, that's better than Tylenol for easing the pain.

Says Gerhard, "My wife and I are of an age where we must think about our estate." He continues, "We can't burden our sons with our lives -- they have their own life plans, so we are creating a bit of space."

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Tags: fontana, gerhard and anna lenz, GerhardAndAnnaLenz, yves klein, YvesKlein