Sunday, February 22, 2009

The auction sale of the century


Today, I went to the Yves Saint Laurent/Pierre Bergé auction sale preview at Le Grand Palais, everyone - well in France at least - is talking about at the moment. The line was so long that the wait was roughly of 4 hours (yes!) but thanks to "Guille", whom you all know if you're a PDP follower, I had the chance to get a pass that made me wait only one hour! It's hard to imagine that someone can have so much beauty in one single house (well actually in two apartments, but still...). I'm sure you can read everything about this sale on the web, but let me just show you this simple drawing by YSL I photographed at the very end of the "exhibition". I think it's extremely moving.

35 comments:

  1. I saw some of the articles for sale in the new york Times yesterday, and they said even tho there is a recession, they expect to do well with the items. He was very revered in France.

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  2. I'll take his house in Morocco for my GF crown.

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  3. LOL, Alexa, my husband said you must be in Gristides right now.

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  4. It's good that you point out that he was not only a collector of art but also an artist. So kind of Guille to do that for you. We owe her thanks for this photo, as well. The illumination is reminiscent of a religious painting with light rays from heaven.

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  5. Great photo, Eric! Thank you !
    And thank you, Guille ;-)

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  6. Glad you liked it Eric. :)

    It's too bad photographs were forbidden because there was a lot to see, tons of amazing objects, paintings or furniture...
    It was kind of weird to "discover" some Picasso or Léger or Mondrian for the very first time and definitely interesting.

    I didn't notice this sunlight before, it makes an incredible picture. This drawing looks like a Cocteau drawing to me.

    Eric, may I add (for the people who would like to attend this exhibition in the next few days) that it was a 6 hours queue and not 4? It makes me even more kind, non? LOL

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  7. Yes very moving in its simplicity, Eric. The light is very special.
    Guille you engineered a great Eric photo for us!
    I bet the exhibition was wonderful.

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  8. 6 hours... phew. I don't do queues well at all. Not even for YSL whom I adore... Which is why I'm so glad you two went!

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  9. in one song carla uses ironically about love
    an image of this insolent talented dandy ''l'amour ...ca me va pas, c'est pas du saint laurent, ca ne tombe pas parfaitement...'' thx eric for showing us without losing 6 hours .. ingeborg

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  10. Beautiful.

    Guille the moment I read the word auction on the title I knew you were probably involved. Thanks!

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  11. 6 hours of long lines...and then here some smooth lines. Merci Eric and Guille. I do love the simplicity of the sketch.

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  12. So sweet and innocent looking ... a little angelic, too, especially with the rays of light. Almost as angelic as yesterday's piglets. I love it.

    Thank you, Eric! Thank you, Guille!

    {Congrats, phx. Stunning choice of crown. Perhaps TG can find a link for us ...}

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  13. Beautiful! Thank you to Guille for your help for our dear photographer friend. Eric, thank you for standing in line for this. I'm so glad you got to see some amazing things that the world will now be able to see.

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  14. Okay, from what I understand, Christie's is handling the auction at Le Grand Palais. So I think the link above should give you an idea. It's amazing! Beautiful, beautiful stuff.

    Merci, Eric et Guille. Wow, what a treat for the both of you. Thank you so much for sharing it with us.

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  15. I could spend a whole day gazing at the very first item, the Degas.

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  16. Eric -- Of all the things you could have shown us from the auction, this is best because it's YSL who did it. And what a fabulous photo!
    PHX -- Actually, I was at Century 21.
    Congrats on GF. Well done. TG may do better, but go here and scroll down to Dar es Saada.

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  17. Ohhhh Eric...je suis vachement jalouse!! I have been reading about this in "Interview" and other magazines and downloaded the catalogue from the Christies website. I love the story about how Pierre Berge decided against using Sotheby's for the sale because he dislikes the director so much!! LOL!!!

    The photo of YSL in the VW is priceless on the website!!

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  18. You were allowed to photograph? Wonderful. THis is a lovely capture Eric. The light on this fine drawing enhances it. Lucky you to see it all.
    V

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  19. I asked Guille to obtain the little Ingres for me, but she refused to answer. I am heartbroken, as I am sure she would get a good price for me. Oh, well.

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  20. its a near-death experience, i see the light! i see the light!

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  21. I am SO glad you sneaked your camera in.
    And thank you for showing us this one BY YSL, perfect choise !

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  22. Great Finale to the show Eric. I owned an YSL tie once. Does that make me fashionable?

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  23. Michael, DEFINITELY fashionable.

    Jeff, the Ingres was tiny and the frame was awful. LOL

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  24. Jeff, I think that means, "Too expensive to buy it for you as a gift".

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  25. Isn't it the simplicity that makes everyone amazed, really cool drawing.

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  26. He was a genius, no question - and yes, I so agree this drawing is so moving - just a few simple lines and we see a life.

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  27. I'm glad you liked this photo, because I like it very much too. Precisely because of what Alexa pointed out ; it's one of the rare things on display that was actually made by YSL.

    Mme Benaut, I'm not going to buy anything, I'm afraid, as, as far as I could see there was nothing under 20 000 euros (and that was just estimations...). Not to mention the Mondrian, which was estimated between - if I recall - 7 and 12 million euros!!

    I'll tick to my framed PDP photos I'm afraid LOL!

    Eric, just back from Trouville.

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  28. Yes, I guess I was expecting too much. Thank you for checking into for me, Guille!

    By the way, I love Nihal's Botticelli from the fresco in the Louvre. It is something I fall in love with everytime I see it, and I make a point of seeing it when I am there. I wonder if Yves St. Laurent like it?

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  29. If only I had the money to bid on something. He truly is a designing legend.

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  30. hello....

    Wow... I like it....
    My favorite museum in Paris is Orsey... but his picture is soooo good...

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