Lehman Collection Headed for Liquidation?

Artworks by Takashi Murakami, Andreas Gursky, and Jasper Johns are among the lesser-known assets in Lehman Brothers' meltdown.

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. owns about 3,500 contemporary artworks that have been displayed in the investment bank's offices around the world, and the fate of the collection is unclear.

Depending on Lehman's bankruptcy proceedings and whether portions of its businesses are acquired, some or all of the art may be sold. Lehman inherited a separate collection when it purchased money manager Neuberger Berman in 2003, and that art — about 900 works — is likely to belong to a new owner if Neuberger is sold.

"In these situations, you can't just sell things off willy-nilly," art adviser Judith Selkowitz said of the collection. "They want everything orderly."

Auctioneers are experienced at liquidating corporate art collections. Sotheby's has sold art for International Business Machines Corp. and Christie's International has disposed of photography for bankrupt futures trader Refco Inc.

New York art dealer Debra Force said she wouldn't be surprised if Lehman took the auction route.

"The administration may decide that, from a PR or visual standpoint, it doesn't look well to have all this art around when the company is bankrupt and people are losing their jobs," she said. "It becomes a bone of contention."