20ème siècle | Paris | October 2017 | Christie’s
“This October, Christie’s presents Giacometti’s colossal Grande femme II alongside Basquiat’s masterpiece, Jim Crow. Drawn from two exceptional French collections, the two works lead our series of auctions dedicated to the great pioneers of modern and contemporary art.
Other sale standouts include paintings by Polke, Fontana and Klein from the Jean-François and Marie-Aline Prat Collection. The Paris Avant-Garde and Art Moderne auctions offer key works by Dubuffet, Delaunay, Leger, Picasso and Miró. 20th Century at Christie’s Paris is an unmissable opportunity for both the emerging and established collectors to acquire art at every price point. Viewings open from 14 October at Christie’s and at The Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild.”
Source: 20ème siècle | Paris | October 2017 | Christie’s
The sale begins today. Isn’t that Giacometti sublime? I hope it ends up in a museum. There are four of these grand femme. The estimate has not been made public! That’s so very, very, incredibly rare. It means record breaking numbers are probably in sight. They’re letting the collectors make private bids (before the event) and then the auction will begin with the highest of those bids. It’s incredibly exciting to watch.
In the same auction there’s a stunning 1965 Zao Wou Ki with an estimate of 700,000 to 1,000,000 €.
.jpg)
If you like the abstracts of the period, but you’re on a smaller budget, Manabu Mabe, Fukuda or Ohtake (Asian-Brazilian mid century artists) are just as interesting, although much less well known. That means you can get lucky and find pieces starting at fairly reasonable prices (considering their quality.) Mabe is, in the opinion of many, one of the great abstract masters of the 20th century. Here’s an example of his work:
Damn, I had better grab my checkbook and jet to Paris! The greedy rich are also ruining the art market (by pricing things so ridiculously high that museums can’t afford them).
I suggest that the system like the public domain system in the U.S. be applied to all art, not just for written works and movies, etc. After a certain time, a piece of art becomes part of the public domain and can be copied without charge or patent. Then instead of a piece of art being locked up in some wealthy asshole’s private collection or in an inaccessible museum, copies can be viewed all over. Museums which cannot afford the original would be able to afford a copy. Museum collections would be then designed around taste and style rather than primarily their budget.
And rich assholes would no longer get tax deductions for donating art with inflated values to public museums. All kinds of benefits!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Agreed.
The French cultural ministry does a pretty good job (especially since the 70’s) of regulating sales and making sure nothing of serious importance leaves the country, but it could of course do much more.
Imagine if there were a provision that a small percentage of art collections over a certain value go to museums?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am not in the market for such things as the Giacometti, but I did get to see it or one fairly similar at Tate Modern last month. I took a stool in, and sat with it, after sitting with the “Very small figurine”, a figure about one inch tall. That might be the answer, museums borrowing works for “Major Exhibitions” and perhaps exciting interest before they are sold. I don’t need the great art to be kept by museums, only to be visible there occasionally. All those Agnes Martin paintings went back across the Atlantic, and I will never see them again, but I am glad it came almost to me rather than me to it.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Loans are good, but I do think more could be done. Even in the sense of bigger museums lending to smaller ones. Many have warehouses full of beautiful things just sitting there, in the dark.
LikeLiked by 1 person