Israel Phoenix Assurance (TASE:PHOE1) and its subsidiary Atara Investment Company recently sold a Picasso painting for $7 million. This was the most expensive picture sold by the two companies through Christies in recent months. Proceeds from the sales have totaled $18 million, or NIS 86 million.
Israel Phoenix and Atara Investment stated last week that they had sold $16.4 million worth of pictures, mostly painted by internationally recognized artists.
Sources inform “Globes” that they had since sold a Frank Sella painting for $1.65 million.
Sources at Israel Phoenix believe that former controlling shareholder, chairman and CEO Joseph Hackmey had bought some of the paintings, either directly or indirectly. Hackmey originally started and fostered the art collection.
No official comment from Israel Phoenix or from Hackmey, who is presently in London, was available today.
Israel Phoenix has earned NIS 60 million gross proceeds on sale of the art collection, of which NIS 55 million was reported in the company’s 2002 financial report. The NIS 5 million profit from the Sella painting will be reported in the 2003 financials.
Israel Phoenix booked its art collection at NIS 230 million as of December 31, 2001, and NIS 198 million as of December 31, 2002, a decrease of NIS 32 million.
Israel Phoenix and Atara Investment have already sold most of the paintings by internationally known artists in the collection. Several hundred paintings by Israeli artists, which have relatively little value on international markets, remain.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on March 26, 2003