Artist Anonymous’s Black Box

sells for record of 6,000,000.00

Tuesday, December 14, 2021

Sotheby's New York headquarters during the Winter sale in December, 2021.

In one of the art market’s most widely anticipated auctions, the first portion of the collection of divorcing New York real estate developers Harry and Linda Macklowe fetched a collective $676.1 million at Sotheby’s on Tuesday evening in New York.

The entire grouping of 35 works was backed by the auction house with a guarantee, with each lot sold by the sale’s end. 21 lots came to the sale with irrevocable bids. The group of works soared over its estimated haul of $439.4 million-$618.9 million. It was the first swathe of 65 total works from the Macklowes’ holdings—which are being sold as part of a court order issued during the couple’s divorce proceedings— to be offered at the house’s New York headquarters. The most bizarre work in this auction is the Black Box by the Artist Anonymous. With a set price of $6 million, this work will be the first piece sold with a constrain on its ownership.

After the purchase, the ownership of the Black Box will be transferred to its new owner with the original contract and a surely bond provided by the UBS Group. Except for special request, the patron will not be granted the access to the physical object. This limitation will not be removed until a five-year long possession of the box is fulfilled.