KANSAS CITY (AP) - More than 30 American paintings collected by a Kansas City couple was sold this week for more than $2 million at an auction in Chicago.
One of the works called "Discussion" by Thomas Hart Benton was purchased Wednesday for more than $1 million, much higher than its presale estimate of $200,000 to $400,000, the Kansas City Star reported.
The buyer of the painting, which depicts a laborer and a union representative, was a private collector, said Colleen Thielen, director of collections for Leslie Hindman Auctioneers.
Thielen said her company typically is conservative in its estimates, but that the number of bidders pushed the price higher than expected.
"There is a very strong base of collectors of Thomas Hart Benton, and these works were very representative of his work. "Discussion' is quintessential Benton in composition, use of color and brushstroke," she said.
Several other Benton works caused intense bidding, with 30 interested buyers in the room and nearly 40 on the phone.
The collection of 33 paintings, which also featured other pieces by John Steuart Curry and Charles Burchfield, was amassed by the late, self-made millionaire Richard M. Levin and his wife, Carol. Richard Levin had built his fortunes with importing company Jason/Empire, according to a 1979 article in the Kansas City Times.
He had sat on the boards of Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and the Kansas City Art Institute. After his wife died of cancer in 2000, he lived in a condo until his death in January 2014.
Family members say Levin opened his home to out-of-town visitors and gallery owners to share his collection with other aficionados. The money from the auction will go to the Levin Family Foundation.
Other American works from the couple's collection that sold above presale estimates include Curry's 1946 "Self Portrait," which sold for more than $62,000 and Burchfield's 1948 "Basswood Tree in Winter," which sold for $98,500.
The sales reflect the "deep interest collectors continue to exhibit for early to mid 20th century American artists," Thielen said.