Mashable: The 150 pieces up for auction at Christie's Manhattan offices span more than 500 years of art history.

If expectations hold true, this week's Christie's sale of Paul Allen's art collection will be the first time an art collection has sold for more than $1 billion at auction.

To give you a fair idea Paul Allen is the co-founder of the famous software company Microsoft. Along with Bill Gates, Allen established the PC operating system in 1975, making Allen a billionaire. Before his death in 2018 at the age of 65, he collected a sizable art collection that he frequently loaned to institutions of higher learning.

In light of the uncertain global economy and Russia's war in Ukraine, art is being seen by some as a safe investment this year, analysts say, prompting a two-day sale in New York.

The 150 pieces up for auction on Wednesday and Thursday at Christie's Manhattan offices span more than 500 years of art history, from Botticelli and Canaletto to Georgia O'Keeffe and Louise Bourgeois through Claude Monet, Francis Bacon, and Edward Hopper.

The collection is also exceptional in terms of value, with some masterpieces expected to sell for over $100 million.

Famous examples of these styles of art are "Montagne Sainte-Victoire" (1888-1890) by French artist Paul Cezanne, which ushered in the cubist movement, and "Les Poseuses, Ensemble (petite version)" (1888) by French pointillist Georges Seurat. Other examples are "Quatre baigneuses" by PABLO PICASSO (1881-1973).

The controversial painting "Maternity II" (1899) by Paul Gauguin, which shows his young mistress Pahura, is also up for auction. Both works are during Gauguin's Tahitian time.

As his health declined and his relationship with Gates worsened, Allen departed Microsoft in 1983. Allen signed Gates's "Giving Pledge" campaign, and the money from the sale will go to charity despite the tension between the two.

Christie's anticipates record-breaking sales that will cement the company's place in art market annals and surpass $1 billion.