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A $300 million art pledge to Seattle University has turned out to be far more complicated than initially presented. Records reviewed by The Seattle Times show that an upcoming Sotheby’s auction of works from collector Richard “Dick” Hedreen’s collection will not fund a new campus museum. Instead, the proceeds will repay a large loan secured against the artworks themselves.
Auction Tied to Outstanding Debt, Not Museum Funding
Sotheby’s will begin selling approximately 50 works from Hedreen’s collection on Monday. The Seattle real estate developer and philanthropist previously described the collection as the “largest art gift ever” to a US university. However, the sale is designed to clear a debt that Hedreen says currently prevents him from completing his pledge to Seattle University.
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The debt has a long history. In 2012, Hedreen secured a Goldman Sachs loan using artworks as collateral, including pieces by Francis Bacon, Willem de Kooning, and David Hockney. In 2025, that loan was replaced by a Bank of America loan secured against approximately 44 major artworks. R.C. Hedreen Co. President David Thyer confirmed the sale is linked to financial pressures in the hotel and real estate sectors. He said company income is insufficient to repay the loan “in any reasonably foreseeable time frame.”
A Pledge, Not Yet a Gift
What Seattle University described as a donation was, in reality, a pledge. Hedreen retained the right to buy and sell works from the collection until the gift was formally completed. The Sotheby’s auction is expected to generate at least $100 million across a series of sales. The total value of artwork still designated for the university remains unclear.
Questions have also emerged about the reported $25 million in seed funding for the museum. The Seattle Times reported that those funds actually came from a private sale of a de Kooning painting. Estimated at $25 million in 2024, the work sold for $17 million.
Notable Works Heading to Auction
The sale covers a broad range of art history. Works by Rashid Johnson, Amy Sherald, and Jonas Wood will appear alongside Old Masters including Bronzino, Jacopo Pontormo, Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, and Thomas Gainsborough. The top lot is Roy Lichtenstein’s Reflections on “Painter and Model” (1990), estimated at $20 million to $30 million. Cecily Brown’s 12-foot-wide Untitled (Shipwreck) (2017), estimated at $7 million to $10 million, is another major highlight.
University and Family Maintain Commitment
Despite the complications, both the Hedreen family and Seattle University say their commitment remains firm. Hedreen’s son Guy stated that his father “is not selling works from his collection in order to spend money on himself.” He described the auction as a step toward removing the debt and fulfilling the original pledge.
Seattle University Vice President Scott K. McClellan said the school continues to see the collection as a significant opportunity. He added that the university had reasonably expected Hedreen’s loan to be cleared by 2028. Construction on the museum, designed by architect Tom Kundig, has been delayed to 2027 while permits are pending.
