Auction Expected To Net $35M For Hackley School

TARRYTOWN, N.Y. – Three paintings up for auction in November are expected to fetch more than $35 million—and all of it will benefit the Hackley School, Headmaster Walter C. Johnson announced Wednesday.

The private school received three paintings in a bequest from Ethel Allen from the collection of Herbert Allen and Ethel Strong Allen: “Nymphéas” by Claude Monet, “Pommiers et faneuse, Éragny” by Camille Pisarro and “L’allée des peupliers à Moret au bord du Loing” by Alfred Sisley.  The paintings are scheduled to be auctioned at Christie's on Nov. 7.

Johnson said in a letter to the school the donation was a “vote of confidence” for the school that would ensure Hackley's continued excellence.

“We at Hackley are deeply grateful to Ethel Allen and all in the Allen family for their leadership in support of our common educational endeavor, a unifying purpose that has inspired the service and commitment of generations of alumni, students, parents, grandparents, faculty and staff over so many decades,” he said.

The bequest is one of several from the Allen family throughout the years, beginning with trustee Herbert Allen, Johnson said.

Allen served as a trustee for 37 years and as an honorary trustee for six years before his death in 1997, Johnson said. Allen's financial support helped develop several campus buildings. Herbert A. Allen, Allen's son and a Hackley alumnus, has also donated $10 million to the school as part of the Centennial Campaign.

“Whatever Hackley is now and can be in the future is a result of Herbert Allen’s faith and his actions, and the ongoing commitment of his children and grandchildren,” he said.

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