Editor’s Note
Christie’s has cancelled the next phase of its sale of the Heidi Horten estate, citing the intense reaction to the controversial first auction.
The auction house Christie’s has cancelled a planned continuation of the sale of the estate of billionaire heiress Heidi Horten following reactions to the controversial first auction.
said Anthea Peers, President of Christie’s Europe, Middle East and Africa division, on Friday. Therefore, the auction house has decided not to conduct any further sales from the estate. Christie’s had auctioned the majority of the estate in May, primarily jewels, raising approximately 185 million euros. A continuation was planned for November.
Horten (1941-2022) was the heiress of German department store entrepreneur Helmut Horten, who died in 1987. He laid the foundation for his wealth during the Nazi era, including taking over department stores from expropriated Jews.
Christie’s had stated in the spring that a portion of the proceeds from the auction would be donated to an organization dealing with Holocaust research and education. Horten had stipulated before her death that the auction proceeds should benefit, among others, charitable organizations and research. There was controversial reporting about the auction in classical and social media, raising the question of whether the collection should be presented so prominently and whether business should be done with the sale. Jewish organizations advocated for suspending the auction.
