Per JENNY BARCHFIELD, Associated Press Writer:
PARIS – From the Picassos that graced his walls to historic artifacts and hundreds of sculptures, the artwork that inspired late fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent went on display Saturday (February 21, 2009), three days before it is auctioned.
The exhibition is free and open to the public through Monday afternoon — hours before the start of sale, which will be held in six sessions over three days because of the sheer size of the collection. Hundreds of private collectors and museums from around the world are expected to bid on the lots.
Billed as "the sale of the century," the auction of the 733-piece collection will disperse in three days a collection that took Saint Laurent and his lifelong partner Pierre Berge half a century to amass.
Highlights include Piet Mondrian's 1922 painting "Composition in Blue, Red, Yellow and Black," whose squares of saturated colors inspired Saint Laurent's legendary 1965 shift dress; a wooden sculpture by Romania's Constantin Brancusi that is expected to sell for euro15 million-euro30 million ($19 million-$37 million); and a pair of bronze animal heads that disappeared from a Beijing palace in 1860 and that China now wants removed from the auction and returned.
Other lots include sculptures from ancient Egypt and Rome and 17th century Italy, medieval ivory crucifixes and silver German beer steins that covered every available surface of Saint Laurent's homes, as well as his Art Deco furniture and even his bed.
The sale, organized by Christie's auction house, is expected to gross $250 million-$380 million. A large portion of the proceeds is to go to a foundation to support AIDS research.
More pictures here. You can view the Christie's catalog here.
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