CHRISTIE’S PRESENTS LARGEST GROUP OF LALANNE WORKS TO EVER BE OFFERED AT AUCTION THIS DECEMBER Three Superb Sales of 20th Century decorative Art & Design at Christie’s New York on December 8
News-Antique.com - Nov 16,2009 - New York – On Tuesday December 8, Christie’s 20th Century Decorative Art & Design sales will
showcase the entire range of 20th Century Decorative Arts, from Art Nouveau, Arts & Crafts, Art
Deco, to the Modernist and Contemporary movements in three separate sales. The auctions
featured are: Important 20th Century Decorative Art & Design, Magnificent Tiffany Featuring The Gluck
Collection (separate release available), and Historical Design Reflects: The East 61st Street Years (separate
release available). With over 400 lots in three separate sales and a sale total expected in the region of
$9-14 million, the auctions create a comprehensive review of this rapidly expanding market.
Extraordinary Lalanne
Christie’s Important 20th Century Decorative Art & Design sale will offer the largest selection of works to
come to auction by the creative powerhouse couple François-Xavier and Claude Lalanne. The 52
works presented in the catalogue are expected to achieve $1.9-$2.9 million. Within this group of 52
works is the largest single-owner collection to come to market with 49 prime examples from the
Lalannes.
François-Xavier and Claude Lalanne, or the Lalannes as they are collectively known, first attracted
attention in Paris in the 1960’s, through widely publicized commissions from Yves Saint Laurent and
Pierre Bergé. Their source of imagery was the natural world, with Claude particulary fascinated by
the texures and sensual lines of boldly scaled plants and François-Xavier captivated by wild animals.
The present selection will offer collectors the opportunity to acquire highly coveted pieces by the
Lalannes, which bear their celebrated signature style.
Among the highlights are two elegant large-scale works by François-
Xavier Lalanne : ‘Grand Wapiti’, a patinated bronze elk designed in
1996 (pictured left, estimate: $100,000-150,000), and a patinated
bronze bear ‘Grande Ourse’ (estimate: $150,000-250,000), designed in
1994. The collection also contains patinated bronze cheetah,
‘Guépard, Tête de Coté’, from 1994 (estimate: $60,000-80,000).
The sale will offer two bronze and galvanized copper candelabra,
‘Candélabre sur Pieds avec feuilles’ (estimate for each: $35,000-55,000)
that were created by Claude Lalanne in 1999. A pair candelabra of the
same model but with nine arm by Claude Lalanne graced the Rue de Babylone home of Yves Saint
Laurent and sold for 145,000 euros this February at Christie's record-breaking Yves Saint Laurent
and Pierre Bergé auction in Paris, where a world auction record was set for a work by the Lalannes.
Also featured in the sale are a pair of painted wrought-iron and marble chairs ‘Oiseaux de Marbres’
(Grand modèle) (estimate: $30,000-50,000) and a matching low table (estimate : $10,000-15,000). A
set of sold in the Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé Paris for 337,000 euros.
Other exceptional highlights include furniture by Claude
Lalanne, including a fantastic ‘Crocodile Banquette’ (pictured
right, estimate: $100,000-150,000), and a magnificent set of
aluminum ‘Gingko’ pieces featuring several chairs (pictured
page 1, estimate for each $15,000-20,000), a low table
(estimate : $40,000-60,000), and a dining table (estimate :
$50,000-80,000).
Italian Design
The top lot of the sale is an important and ebonized wood and glass occasional table by
