onementv1
Paul Allen just sold this painting “Onement VI” at Sotheby’s for $43.8 million. Via Wikipedia.

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen — one of the richest men in the world — must have a pretty good eye for investing in art.

Allen sold the above 1953 abstract painting by American abstract artist Barnett Newman at Sotheby’s for $43.8 million on Tuesday, a whopping price tag that exceeded the $30 million to $40 million that The New York Times thought the massive 8.5 by 10 foot piece would fetch.

Last month, The Times noted that Newman’s “Onement V” sold at auction for $22.4 million. In the latest auction for “Onement VI,” an anonymous bidder from Italy purchased the work of art.

What’s Allen, who acquired the painting 13 years ago, going to do with the cash?

No word on that front. A spokeswoman for Paul Allen’s private investment arm, Vulcan, declined to comment.

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