Boasting paintings by Picasso, Monet, Matisse, Seurat and Gauguin that once decorated the walls of the billionaire’s home, the collection is conservatively expected to fetch $700 million (£520 million). However, given the rarity of the items, the sale – which follows Rockefeller’s death aged 101 in March – could achieve far more, even topping $1billion. In addition to the paintings there are other items of historical interest, including a porcelain dessert service made for Napoleon, expected to fetch $250,000 (£185,000). Claude Monet’s Nympheas En Fleur (Lilies In Flower), has a price tag in the region of $35 million (£26 million). One noted art collector and philanthropist, US businessman Ronald Lauder, exclaimed: ‘I have three categories of art: “Oh”, “Oh my” and “Oh my God”.

Source: Daily Mail December 31, 2017 00:22 UTC