LOS ANGELES - (AFP) - It was announced Wednesday, in Los Angeles, that part of the private collection of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen will be sold at an auction organized by Christie's, which estimated the value of these holdings at one billion dollars, a record.

The auction entitled "Vignery" is organized in New York on the ninth and tenth of November and includes more than 150 works, including paintings by Vincent Van Gogh, Gustav Klimt, and the French Claude Monet and Paul Gauguin.

The entire proceeds from the auction will be allocated to support a number of charitable causes, in fulfillment of Paul Allen's wish before his death in 2018.

"This collection has the highest value ever at auction," Johanna Flom, Christie's deputy director of 20th and 21st century art, told AFP.

This is a once-in-a-century event."

The art collection of the American couple, Harry and Linda McCullough, currently holds the record for the value of private collections, as their total works were sold last spring for $ 922 million in multiple auctions held by Sotheby's.

Christie's indicated that the two most expensive paintings in Paul Allen's collection are "Mount Saint Victoire" by French painter Paul Cézanne, which was estimated at more than $120 million, and "Garden of Cypresses" by Vincent Van Gogh, with an estimated value of $100 million.

"The collection includes works from several artistic eras, which makes Paul Allen a unique collector," said Joanna Flom.

Prior to the auction, part of the collection will be made available to the public in Los Angeles, London, Paris, Shanghai and New York.

Paul Allen, who died at the age of 65 after a struggle with cancer, participated in the innovation of the personal computer operating system that was behind the success of Microsoft after its founding in 1975.

Allen left Microsoft in 1983 due to health problems, as well as due to the deterioration of his relationship with Bill Gates, who remained at the head of the group until the year 2000.