Financier Martinez to Offer Warhol, Stella Paintings at Christie's Auction

(Bloomberg) -- Financier David Martinez is selling two artworks that could fetch more than $100 million at Christie's in New York this month, according to a person familiar with the matter, part of a series of auctions that's expected to result in sales of more than $1.6 billion.

Andy Warhol's “Double Elvis [Ferus Type],” a 1963 canvas showing Elvis Presley dressed as a gunslinger, is estimated at $50 million to $70 million. Frank Stella's monumental “Point of Pines” from 1959, is expected to sell for $25 million to $35 million.

The paintings highlight Christie's May 15 evening sale of postwar and contemporary art. Other sellers in the semiannual auctions by three firms include the families of Si Newhouse and Irvin Levy, as well as estates of Sara Lee heiress Beatrice “Buddy” Mayer and Princess “Titi” von Furstenberg.

The Warhol and Stella paintings, which were bought from the same gallery, are being sold anonymously. Representatives for Martinez and Christie's declined to comment.

Martinez, a billionaire and native of Mexico, is founder of Fintech Advisory Inc., an investment firm with an office on New York's Park Avenue. He has appeared on ArtNews list of top 200 collectors every year for the past decade.

The Warhol carries a third-party guarantee from an outside backer, ensuring it will sell. If the Stella sells within its estimated range, it would be highest amount paid at auction for the 82-year-old artist's work. His current record is $13.7 million in 2015.

To contact the reporter on this story: Katya Kazakina in New York at kkazakina@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Pierre Paulden at ppaulden@bloomberg.net, Steven Crabill

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