Christie's to Auction Ted Turner Western Paintings to Fund Foundation
Works by Albert Bierstadt and Thomas Moran, with an estimated total of about $20 million, go on the block January 20 in New York.
Updated on Nov. 11, 2026 in National Parks
Christie's will hold an auction of paintings formerly owned by Ted Turner on January 20, with an estimated total of around $20 million. Proceeds from the sale will benefit the Turner Foundation, which supports environmental stewardship.
Why it matters
The sale directs funds toward the Turner Foundation's conservation work while placing historically significant Western landscapes back into the market. The paintings connect to the early history of American land preservation, including the creation of Yellowstone National Park.
The sale carries a total estimate of around $20 million, with proceeds going to the Turner Foundation, which made $2.7 million in grants in 2025. Final prices for individual works will not be known until the January 20 auction closes.
The players
Christie's
Christie's is a major international auction house headquartered in London with a long-established sale room in New York, handling fine art and collectibles.
Turner Foundation
The Turner Foundation is a philanthropic organization founded by Ted Turner that supports environmental stewardship and conservation initiatives.
Ted Turner
Ted Turner is a media executive who founded CNN in 1980 and was a major philanthropist focused on environmental causes before his death at age 87.
The details
Christie's will offer paintings by Albert Bierstadt and Thomas Moran at its New York salesroom, with all proceeds directed to the Turner Foundation. The works were formerly owned by Ted Turner, who founded CNN in 1980 and died in 2026 at age 87.
Timeline
1871: Thomas Moran joins a survey expedition to the Montana and Wyoming Territories.
1872: Yellowstone National Park is created, influenced in part by Moran's paintings.
1887: The Dawes Act is enacted, severing Native land ownership.
1889 and 1890: Montana and Wyoming become states.
January 20, 2027: Christie's holds the auction in New York.
Seasonal Patterns
The paintings reflect the mid-nineteenth-century Western survey tradition that preceded Yellowstone's 1872 designation as the first U.S. national park. Their resale now links that early conservation history to a modern foundation's environmental funding.
Art collectors and conservation-minded readers interested in bidding should register with Christie's ahead of the January 20 sale. Visitors to Yellowstone can see the landscape traditions that influenced Moran's work at the park itself.
The takeaway
Historic Western landscape art and the parks it helped inspire remain closely linked, and sales like this one can direct private wealth toward ongoing conservation. Readers who appreciate national parks may find that the paintings and the places share a common story.
What happens next
The Christie's auction is scheduled for January 20, 2027, in New York, when final sale prices for the works will be announced.
Further reading
Explore more about the history of National Parks and the early conservation movement that shaped them.
