Nov. 2 (Bloomberg) -- An eclectic batch of artworks that once adorned the corporate offices of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. sold for $1.35 million yesterday at Freeman’s Auctioneers in Philadelphia.

While the tally for the 283 lots was almost double the projected total of as much as $760,800, it represented no more than a modest dent in the $250 billion Lehman owes creditors.

The marathon six-hour sale drew fast-paced bidding and strong prices. The top lot was Roy Lichtenstein’s blue-and- white-striped Statue of Liberty print (1982) titled “I Love Liberty,” which sold for $49,000, nearly double the $25,000 presale high estimate.

Other pricey lots included a 1975 primary-colored set of seven Robert Indiana prints called “Polygons.” Expected to fetch no more than $6,000, the set went for $23,750. Arturo Herrera’s “Mine,” a looping blue-and-white collage, sold for $16,250 to a Venezuelan collector attending his first auction. All of the 283 lots sold, and the majority were offered without a minimum price.

“I think there was a certain amount of trophy hunting,” said Alasdair Nichol, Freeman’s vice chairman and auctioneer, after the sale, noting the presence of former Lehman employees and staffers from other financial companies. “What’s not to like? It’s nice boardroom art, presented nicely, ready to go up on the walls. People lapped it up.”

‘Piece of History’

“This gives you a piece of financial history -- good, bad or indifferent,” said art adviser Scott Drucks, of the New Jersey-based Forrest Scott Group, who works with corporate and bank clients including Barclays Plc, Hewlett-Packard Co. and AT&T Inc. “Prices were fair and the estimates were low.” Barclays, which purchased part of Lehman, declined to exercise an option to buy some of the art collection.

Lehman filed the biggest U.S. bankruptcy on Sept. 15, 2008. Proceeds from art sales will benefit creditors. Additional Lehman property sells on Dec. 6 and Feb. 12, 2010.

“The Lehman name has been having a greater effect than anyone expected,” said Kelly Wright, a New Hampshire-based art and antiques appraiser who consulted with the Lehman estate on the sale. Wright estimated that a quarter of the sale’s audience was affiliated with Lehman in some way.

The Lehman name also drew curious onlookers and collectors to the high-ceilinged neo-classical salesroom. The auction registered 250 bidders on the Internet alone, including 200 voyeurs who logged in via the Web just to follow the proceedings.

Quick Start

The sale got off to a quick start as moody, black-and-white prewar prints, mainly New York views of bridges and skyscrapers, elicited strong bidding. Louis Lozowick’s 1929 lithograph “Hanover Square” sold for $26,200 (presale high estimate, $8,000).

Some prices seemed inexplicable: Yvonne Jacquette’s print of a bird’s eye night-time Manhattan view, “Midtown Composite,” fetched $16,250 to a round of applause (presale high, $1,800). Prices include a buyer’s commission of 25 percent on the first $20,000 and 20 percent on $20,001-$500,000. Estimates do not include these fees.

New York collector Alex Bresler said he was a creditor who owned Lehman bonds. He sat near the front of the salesroom, tapping a bronze-hued iPhone, and raising his white rectangular paddle for a 1997 Louise Bourgeois print of a wavy bed with lips. He didn’t get it, but he did snag Joanne Greenbaum’s “Untitled,” for $815.50, below the $1,000 low estimate.

“This is the only bank they let fail, but if they let JP Morgan, or anyone else fail, this is the bankruptcy process,” said Bresler. “It’s good. It’s cleansing.”

He was enjoying the spectacle of the sale, but wasn’t expecting to recoup any of his Lehman investments: “Maybe I’ll get repaid in full, but I’m not counting on it.”

To contact the reporter on the story: Lindsay Pollock in New York at lindsaypollock@yahoo.com;

Last Updated: November 1, 2009 21:41 EST