Internal Revenue Service art auction in Birmingham raises $144000
Paintings and other art pieces line the wall at the art auction. The IRS held an art auction at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Birmingham Wednesday November 16, 2011. About 250 paintings, photographs and mixed media works were auctioned off to the highest bidder. The works were seized from a Birmingham attorney for nonpayment of taxes. (The Birmingham News/Joe Songer). BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- The Internal Revenue Service raised around $144,000 through selling at an art auction nearly 330 pieces of artwork seized to settle tax debt. The artwork was obtained from a Birmingham attorney to collect unpaid taxes , the IRS said.
The auction, held this morning at the Embassy Suites off U.S. 31 in Birmingham, included paintings and photographs by some well known artists, including Kerry James Marshall, Hank Willis Thomas, Raymond Pettibon, Mark Flood and Mickalene Thomas . The total collection was appraised at a value over $500,000.
Around 40 people were present for bidding, which began at 9 a.m. and ended around 12:15 p.m. The most expensive item sold was a piece by Mickalene Thomas , which was purchased for $18,000. However, many pieces sold for less than $100.
Dan Boone , spokesman for the IRS in Alabama and Nashville, said seizing and selling property isn't the the first option the agency tries when attempting to collect unpaid taxes. It's usually the last.
"Typically, we work out some kind of a payment plan with the tax payer," he said. " It is a last resort for us to seize and sell property."
The minimum bid for set by the IRS for the entire collection was $20,000. The winning bid for the collection was $90,000. However, during individual artwork bidding, the total sales surpassed that amount, so the pieces were sold separately.
Kerry Martin Artist - News
IRS holds art auction gallery (4 photos) The auction, held this morning at the Embassy Suites off US 31 in Birmingham, included paintings and photographs by some well known artists, including Kerry James Marshall, Hank Willis Thomas, Raymond Pettibon,
This artwork and more than 200 other pieces by a variety of artists will be auctioned by the IRS on Nov. 16. Artists' work auctioned at the event will include the work of Kerry James Marshall, Hank Willis Thomas, Raymond Pettibon, Mark Flood and
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