When iconic designer Yves Saint Laurent died of brain cancer in June last year at the age of 71, he left behind a rich fashion legacy: He popularized the women's pantsuit, see-through blouses and the safari jacket. But he also left behind one of the world's greatest art collections.
Assembled over 50 years with his lover and business partner Pierre Bergé, the 700-plus works will go on the block Feb. 23 in a three-day auction that art-world aficionados are referring to as the sale of the century. The collection spans a range of styles and eras, including old master paintings and drawings, rare works by impressionist greats, African art and more. Christie's International, which is running the sale at Paris' Grand Palais, is estimating a total take as high as $390 million.
Proceeds from the sale will go to two charitable foundations set up by Saint Laurent and Bergé.
Since the financial markets started collapsing in the fall, auctions have struggled, and auction houses have limited the number of lots for sale. Sotheby's Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale on Feb. 3 in London fetched just $46 million including commissions, compared with the $230 million the sale hauled in a year ago. But Christie's--and the benefactors--hope that the greatness of the Saint Laurent collection will defy the downward trend.
Among the works in the painting portion of the sale, which takes place the evening of Feb. 23, is a 1911 canvas by Henri Matisse (1869-1954), "Les coucous, tapis bleu et rose," which Christie's head of impressionist and modern art, Thomas Seydoux, says defines Saint Laurent's approach to design.
"This picture by Matisse is all about juxtaposition and defined balance between color and motif," observes Seydoux. "That's what Saint Laurent was all about: finding balance in his clothes between color and motif."
The still life depicts a blue-and-white vase holding a tight bouquet of yellow flowers atop a tablecloth of deep blue and pink. The swirling designs on the fabric are reminiscent of the famous 1910 Matisse depiction of dancing figures, "The Dance," which hangs in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In "Les coucous," a vibrant light blue wall serves as the backdrop to the flowers, and a diminutive painting of a painting by fellow fauvist Albert Marquet hangs just to the right of the vase.
Christie's estimates the picture will sell for $16 million to $23 million.
Who has that kind of cash right now? International art dealer David Nahmad, for one, who says he owned the picture briefly in 1979, when Christie's tried to sell the canvas during the Middle East oil crisis at a London auction.
"The painting didn't sell," remembers Nahmad. "It was bought in." Nahmad snapped it up post-sale for 250,000 British pounds (the equivalent of $1.6 million today), and then sold it shortly thereafter to Paris dealer Alain Tarica. Saint Laurent and Bergé bought it from Tarica in 1981.
Nahmad, who often makes decisions about his purchases mid-auction (he bought a Miró at Sotheby's yesterday for $2 million including commissions), won't say what he's willing to pay now to reacquire the work.
Seydoux, however, believes an institution may be the ultimate owner.
"This is appalling for me to say as a Frenchman," he confesses, "but the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has a whole department devoted to costumes and design; this painting combines the two." - Susan Adams Forbes.com
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