How Much Is Police Gazette Worth?

Conclusion: Police Gazette (1955) is valued at $95–125 million in today’s private market. This synthesis triangulates (i) the painting’s widely reported $63.5 million private transaction in 2006, brought forward by U.S. CPI to roughly the low nine figures today [1][6]; (ii) the extraordinary private benchmark set by de Kooning’s 1955 Interchange at about $300 million (2015) for a directly comparable apex‑period canvas [3]; and (iii) the current public ceiling for the artist at $66.3 million with premium (2016), which underprices 1950s masterpieces relative to their private liquidity [2]. In a prime New York evening sale with a strong third‑party guarantee, a realistic hammer range would be ~$80–100 million, implying an all‑in price into the low/mid nine figures under prevailing fee schedules.

Art‑historical standing and scarcity: Painted in 1955, Police Gazette is a marquee example from de Kooning’s pivotal mid‑1950s turn from the Woman series to luminous, fractured landscape‑abstractions. Works from 1954–57 sit at the apex of his oeuvre, with museum‑caliber examples surfacing rarely. The price hierarchy in de Kooning’s market is clear: top 1950s canvases command nine figures privately (Interchange) [3], while the most visible public comps (often 1970s works) cap the auction record but do not reflect the premium paid for canonical mid‑1950s pictures [2].

Market evidence and calibration: The last well‑documented trade of Police Gazette—David Geffen to Steven A. Cohen for ~$63.5m in 2006—provides a concrete anchor; normalized to 2025–26 dollars, that price equates to roughly $100m [1][6]. Public auction benchmarks confirm depth across periods but underscore the premium for the 1950s: the standing auction record is $66.33m for a 1977 painting (Christie’s, 2016) [2]; a first‑rate 1940s abstraction, Orestes (1947), achieved $30.885m in May 2023 [5]. Against these, a 1955 trophy with name recognition and blue‑chip provenance warrants a step‑up consistent with our indicated range.

Provenance and long‑run appreciation: The work’s chain—Scull Collection (sold publicly in 1973 to Ernst Beyeler), later David Geffen, then Steven A. Cohen—supports trophy‑grade desirability and institutional familiarity [4][1]. The 1973 hammer at $180,000 underscores a multi‑decade compounding story into today’s nine‑figure context [4].

Sale mechanics and positioning: At auction, guarantees and estimate strategy will be decisive. With a well‑pitched estimate and third‑party backstop, competitive bidding from a concentrated pool of top‑tier Post‑War buyers should place the work around $80–100m hammer; privately, disciplined scarcity and targeted placement justify $95–125m. This synthesis assumes standard, sound condition for a 1950s oil on canvas and no restrictive encumbrances.