Rumors last November that Refco was putting its photo art collection up for auction appear to be developing into a real event. The 510-picture collection, containing the works of the likes of Andy Warhol, could bring in $7 million to pay off creditors. However, just as anyone familiar with the Refco saga would expect, the sale is not without its own bit of self-reflective drama. One photo of contention is a piece by Andreas Gursky, the 6-1/2 foot-by-11-1/2 foot “Avenue of the Americas,” which the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art wants excluded from the bidding. It is arguing that Refco had promised the work – valued at $150,000 — as a gift before the firm collapsed.
The works themselves, Bloomberg News reports, are not photojournalism; rather, many are staged or manipulated images. According to the 282-page catalogue of the collection, the works “demonstrate for us what photography can and cannot do, how it tells the truth, how it lies, and how we benefit from the way it lies.” Frances Dittmer, wife of the former Refco chairman Thomas Dittmer, who put together the collection, insists there is no connection between that statement and the allegations that led to the firm’s collapse.
Meanwhile, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Robert Drain has given Refco the OK to pay $1.4 million in bonuses to 32 top employees in order to keep them on board while the firm works on closing down.