EXCLUSIVE: Gene Hackman's Massive Art Collection Headed to Auction — Priceless Paintings Expected to Rake In Over $500K Nine Months After Hollywood Icon's Tragic Death

Gene Hackman's prized personal art collection is headed for auction, RadarOnline.com can report, nine months after his and his wife's unexpected deaths.

The Oscar winner, who was an amateur painter himself, was also a collector of fine art, with some of the paintings in his collection expected to sell for six figures.

The bodies of Hackman, 95, wife Betsy Arakawa, 65, as well as one of their beloved pup, Zinna, were discovered by maintenance workers at the couple's $4million Santa Fe home, on Wednesday, February 26.

Now, his family is preparing to auction off some of his personal awards and memorabilia, along with artwork he created and collected from some of the biggest names in American art history.

Anna Hicks, Head of US Private & Iconic Collections at Bonhams, told Radar there will be three separate offerings throughout November.

"The live auction is a series of fine art works by other well-known artists at a kind of high price point, that were in Mr. Hackman’s collection," Hicks said, adding that there will then be two online sales featuring Hackman's "own paintings and some of their household items."

All auctions are open to the public, but Hicks admits the live one features many works that cost as much as a home.

"The live auction on November 19th features works that he collected by quite famous artists, including Milton Avery and two Richard Diebenkorn prints, which are all in the 6-figure range, as well as a few other well-known American artists.

The highlight of the live auction is "Figure on the Jetty" by American modernist Avery, which is expected to sell for anywhere from $500,000 to $700,000.

According to an auction house description: "This painting, depicting a lone figure on a jetty gazing out to sea, is likely inspired from (Avery's) summers of 1957 through 1960 spent in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and reflects Avery’s mature style, prominently featured throughout his oeuvre."

After spending decades on display at major galleries and institutions, Hackman acquired it in 1997, and kept it until his death.

The online auction, to be held on the Bonhams website, features Hackman's personal items at a much lower price point, including three of his Golden Globe Awards—one for Unforgiven, one for The Royal Tenenbaums, and his Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award.

"There's also scattered movie memorabilia from almost every movie he’s ever been in," Hicks emphasized. "With photos, stills, call sheets, and various other bits and bobs."

Then there’s his own artwork, which Hackman took very seriously.

"He was a prolific artist," Hicks revealed, adding that the collection offered features: "a lot of portraits and select things that he did after he retired from acting."

As Radar has reported, the bodies of the couple were found in separate rooms of their house. Arakawa was discovered in the couple's bathroom with pills scattered around her, and Hackman was found on the ground in a mudroom near the kitchen.

Arakawa, an accomplished classical pianist, was said to have died from hantavirus, a flu-like illness related to rodents.

She was believed to have died at least a week before Hackman, who suffered from Alzheimer's.

Hackman's cause of death was said to be a combination of advanced Alzheimer's, high blood pressure, and severe heart disease. His pacemaker's last recorded activity was on February 18.

At a press conference, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Heather Jarrell said due to Hackman's "advanced state of Alzheimer's," it was "quite possible" the actor was unaware his wife had passed away.

The couple's dog, which was discovered deceased in a crate, presumably died of starvation and dehydration, according to Santa Fe County animal control.