In a statement Monday, the auction house said billionaire Kenneth C.
The document — one of only four copies in private hands — was provided in the first part of “Fine Books and Manuscripts” sold by Sotheby’s last Thursday, with an estimated $8 million to $12 million. After fierce bidding, Griffin won a winning bid of $12 million over the phone. With the buyer’s premium, the total was $13.7 million, which is much higher than the $2.4 million record for other amendments in 2016.
In the sale, Griffin also obtained a signed copy of the Proclamation of Liberation, Lincoln’s 1863 order declared that all enslaved people in the Allies were free. The version provided by Sotheby’s was signed in 1864. In the end, Griffin won an estimate of $3 million to $5 million for $4.4 million.
Griffin said in a statement that he pursued the two documents because they “signed a far-reaching step forward, abolishing the scourge of slavery and promoting the ideal of equality for all.”
“With the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, all of us play an important role in strengthening and updating our nation’s commitments. Every generation must experience the sacred documents of our democracy to learn from them and be inspired to move our nation forward,” he continued. “I care so much about the future of our nation and hope to inspire all Americans to uphold the vision set out in our Constitution and the 13th Amendment.”
Griffin, founder of the billionaire’s hedge fund castle, is a major art philanthropist who often appears in Artnews Thanks to his modernist and contemporary masterpieces such as Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock, Paul Cézanne, Jasper Johns, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, this is his extensive stake in modernist and contemporary masterpieces.
He is also a major donor to major museums, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York ($40 million), the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago Museum ($10 million), the Norton Museum of Art in Florida ($16 million), and the Shed in New York ($25 million). Griffin also supports the Museum of History and Natural History, and the reason for conservatives: Last year, he donated $100 million to conservative candidates in the United States.
The 13th Amendment is not Griffin’s first major purchase of American historical documents. In 2021, he spent $43.2 million to purchase a rare copy of the U.S. Constitution, a constitutional convention of 14 printed delegates.
In May, Griffin announced that it would lend a copy of the Constitution to a copy of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, which will be publicly viewed by 2026. The loan was accompanied by a $15 million gift, and the agency will rename its central hall Kenneth C. Griffin Great Hall.
“All our National Constitutional Centers tell the story of the founding of the United States in this meaningful way thanks to Ken Griffin’s generosity,” Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitutional Center, said in a May statement. “Our new gallery in the United States, which includes rare original prints of the Constitution and Bill of Rights, will attract and inspire millions and look forward to the 250th anniversary of the Constitution as we commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.”
