The increase in prices for art objects did not bypass sculpture, despite the fact that for quite a long time this direction in prices lagged significantly behind painting. The above rating is not official and does not claim a special status. It does not matter here either the material from which the sculpture was made, or its age, or the time and place of sale. What unites all these sculptures is the impressive sums that collectors paid for them.
"Walking Man I". Alberto Giacometti
The most expensive sculpture ever sold at auction is the bronze statue "Walking Man I" by the famous master from Switzerland, Alberto Giacometti. The sculptor of a man advancing in space (height 183 cm) was created in 1961, and displays the vitality. “A modest image of a man, but a powerful symbol of eternity,” the organizers of the auction called the sculpture. The peculiarity of the work is that it is reduced to minimal forms and this emphasizes the loneliness of a person in the world and the fragility of his soul. The sculpture was sold in February 2010 at Sothby's auction in London for $104.327 million.
"For the love of the Lord." Damien Hirst
In second place in the ranking of the most expensive sculptures is the skull "For the Love of the Lord." The author of the work is Damien Hirst from the UK. The artist has made a platinum replica of an 18th century European skull. In the platinum skull, cells for diamonds were made by laser (there are 8601 in total in the skull), the jaw is made of platinum, but real teeth are inserted into the skull. The skull is crowned with a pink diamond of 52.4 carats. In 2007, the skull was exhibited at the White Cube Gallery. The sculpture "For the Love of God" was sold in 2010 for $100 million. It is said that Damien Hirst himself was among the group of investors.
It is worth noting that the skull is today a fairly popular art object. Recently, the artist Nino Sarabutra created an unusual exhibition - a hundred thousand skulls in the exhibition space.
"Head". Amedeo Modigliani
The third place went to the sculpture "Head", created in 1910 by the sculptor and artist Amedeo Modigliani. Experts draw analogies between Modigliani's sculpture and the famous bust of Queen Nefertiti, which is kept in the Egyptian Museum in Berlin. The height of the sculpture is 65 cm. It shows all the features characteristic of the works of Modigliani - almond-shaped eyes, an oval face, a long thin nose, an elongated neck, a small mouth. The sculpture was sold in 2010 at Christie's auction in Paris. According to François de Riquel, president of French auctions, collectors from all over the world traded by phone for the work of the famous Italian sculptor. The "head" went under the hammer for $ 59.5 million. Name buyer is not disclosed.
"The Lioness of Guennola". Unknown author
In fourth place in the ranking is the 8-cm figurine "Lioness of Guennola", which was made of limestone 5000 years ago in Mesopotamia. From 1948 to 2007, the figurine belonged to the US collector Alistair Bradley Martin and exhibited with his permission in the Brooklyn Museum of Art. At Sothby's auction, 5 collectors competed for the figurine. The organizers of the auction expected to sell the Guennol Lioness for $14-18 million, but as a result it was sold for $57.16. The ex-owner sent all the proceeds to a special charitable foundation.
Diego's Big Head. Alberto Giacometti
Closes the top 5 most expensive sculptures "The Big Head of Diego" by Alberto Giacometti (Switzerland). The sculpture, 65 cm high, was created in 1954, and his brother Diego posed for the sculptor. In 2010, at Christie's, the sculpture was sold for $53.282 million, and in November 2013, the bronze bust at Sothby's New York sold for $32.6 million, somewhat losing its position.
"Nude female figure from the back IV." Henri Matisse
Sixth place is held by the bronze bas-relief "Nude female figure from the back IV", created in 1958 by the impressionist Henri Matisse. In 2010, Christie's sculpture sold for $48.8 million at Christie's auction. Connoisseurs call this work the brightest of the four works in the "Standing Back to the Viewer" series, which Matisse created from 1909 to 1930. A plaster cast for each series was cast immediately in 12 copies.Today, the complete series are kept at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Tate Gallery in London and the Pompidou Center in Paris.Until 2010, none of the sculptures of this cycle was put up for auction.
"Madame L.R." Constantine Brancusi
The sculpture "Madame L.R.", made of wood by the Romanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi, was sold at Christie's auction for $ 37.2 million in February 2009. According to art historians, the sculpture combines the unique style of Carpathian carving and African motifs.
"Reclining Figure" Henry Moore
Eighth place in the ranking is occupied by the "Reclining Figure" (1951) by the sculptor of the last century - Henry Moore. The length of the sculpture is 244.5 cm. At the open auction of the trading house Christie's “Reclining Figure”, a hammer went for $ 30.148 million. In total, Moore cast 5 copies of the sculpture. In 2005, one of the sculptures became the victim of intruders. She was stolen in a matter of minutes from the estate in Hertfordshire, owned by Henry Moore himself, by loading with a winch into the back of a truck right under the surveillance cameras.
"Head of a Woman" Pablo Picasso
In ninth place is the "Head of a Woman" by the great Spanish sculptor, artist, designer and graphic artist Pablo Picasso. The great master dedicated this work to his beloved, the French artist Dora Maar.
In the fall of 2007, at Sotheby's, an 80-cm-high sculpture was sold for $29.161 million with an extime of $20-30 million. The bronze bust was bought by private collector Frank Giraud. It is worth noting that Picasso was cast 4 copies of this sculpture.
"Artemis with a deer". Unknown author
Closes the top 10 most expensive sculptures "Artemis with a doe", created by an unknown author in the 1st century BC. BC e. - I century. n. e. This sculpture is by far the most expensive antique sculpture sold at auction. She left the Sotheby's auction for $28.6 million. Despite its considerable age, the sculpture has survived remarkably well.
On May 12, 2015, another price record was broken at Christie's New York auction: Alberto Giacometti's Pointing Man sculpture was sold for $141.3 million. This is almost $40 million more than the previous top lot - another work by the Swiss master Walking Man I". In this selection, compiled by one of the most authoritative editions of Forbes, you can see what sculptures are in demand now and how much money collectors are willing to pay for them. Attention! Some sculptures may shake your sense of beauty.
"Pointing man", 1947
The Pointing Man is the most expensive sculpture ever sold at auction. This is one of six similar bronze statues by Giacometti created in 1947. Sculpture, which went under the hammer at Christie's, has been kept in a private collection for the last 45 years. Its former owner in 1970 bought the work from American collectors Fred and Florence Olsen. Those, in turn, purchased the masterpiece in 1953 from the son of the famous French artist Henri Matisse Pierre. The rest of the "pointing" sculptures are kept in museums around the world, including the New York MoMA and London's Tate gallery, as well as in private collections.
The lot sold at Christie's differs from others in that Giacometti hand-painted it. The sculptor created the statue in a few hours - between midnight and nine in the morning, he told his biographer. The Swiss master was preparing for his first exhibition in New York in 15 years. “I already made a plaster cast, but I destroyed and created again and again, because the workers of the foundry had to pick it up in the morning. When they got the cast, the plaster was still wet,” he recalled.
Depicting thin, highly elongated figures of people, symbolizing loneliness and insecurity of existence, the sculptor began after the Second World War, during which Giacometti was forced to move from France to Switzerland and settle in Geneva.
Giacometti's work is considered one of the most expensive on the contemporary art market. On the eve of the auction, experts estimated the cost of "Pointing Man" at $ 130 million - higher than the cost of the previous record holder, "Walking Man I" by the same author. The name of the buyer, who laid out $141.3 million for the sculpture, was not disclosed.
"Walking Man I", 1961
Walking Man I is considered one of the most recognizable sculptures of the 20th century. The work, along with a portrait of its author, is even depicted on the 100 Swiss franc note. In 2010, it appeared at auction for the first time in twenty years - the lot was put up by the German Dresdner Bank AG, which acquired a masterpiece for the corporate collection, but after the takeover of Commerzbank, got rid of the art objects. The sellers promised to donate the proceeds from Walking Man I to charity.
The sculpture caused a real stir. At least ten applicants fought for it in the hall, but the highest price was finally offered by an anonymous buyer by phone. Bidding lasted eight minutes, during which time the starting price of the lot rose five times (and together with the commission - almost six times).
Experts from The Wall Street Journal suggested that the anonymous buyer was Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, who bought a bronze statue of a woman created by Giacometti in 1956 two years earlier. However, Bloomberg later found out that Lily Safra, the widow of Brazilian banker Edmond Safra, became the owner of the statue.
"For the love of the Lord", 2007
The sculpture, made by the famous British artist Damien Hirst from 2 kg of platinum, is a slightly reduced copy of the skull of a 35-year-old European of the 18th century. The cells for diamonds (8601 in total) are laser cut, the jaw is made of platinum, and real teeth are inserted. The skull is crowned with a pink diamond weighing 52.4 carats. The work cost the British artist, famous for his scandalous installations using animal corpses in formalin, £14 million.
Hirst claimed that the name of the sculpture was inspired by the words of the mother when she turned to him with the question: For the love of God, what are you going to do next? (“For God’s sake, what are you doing now?”). For the love of God is a verbatim quote from the First Epistle of John.
In 2007, the skull was exhibited at the White Cube Gallery and sold for $100m (£50m) the same year. Bloomberg and The Washington Post wrote that Damien Hirst himself, as well as Ukrainian billionaire Viktor Pinchuk, were among the investors. A representative of the White Cube gallery did not comment on the rumors, but said that the buyers intend to subsequently resell Hirst's work.
"Head", 1910-1912
For the work of Amedeo Modigliani, collectors bargained over the phone, as a result, the sculpture went under the hammer for $ 59.5 million, which was ten times higher than the starting price. The name of the buyer was not disclosed, but it is known that he comes from Italy.
Modigliani did not work on sculpture for long - from 1909 to 1913, when the artist returned to painting again, including due to tuberculosis. The "Head" sold at Christie's is part of a collection of seven sculptures "Pillars of Tenderness", which the author exhibited in 1911 in the studio of the Portuguese artist Amadeo de Sousa-Cordoso. All works are distinguished by a pronounced oval head, almond-shaped eyes, a long, thin nose, a small mouth and an elongated neck. Experts also draw analogies between Modigliani's sculpture and the famous bust of Queen Nefertiti, which is kept in the Egyptian Museum in Berlin.
"Balloon Dog (Orange)", 1994-2000
The stainless steel dog came to the auction from the collection of businessman Peter Brant, having previously visited the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, the Grand Canal in Venice and the Palace of Versailles. The pre-sale estimate of the lot, three meters high and weighing a ton, was $55 million. The orange dog is the first of five "air" dogs created by the American artist. The remaining four sculptures also went to collections, but were sold at a lower price.
Commercial success came to Koons, a former Wall Street broker, in 2007. Then his giant metal installation Hanging Heart was sold at Sotheby's for $23.6 million. Christie's for $33.7 million
"The Lioness of Guennol", circa 3000-2800 BC e.
Created in ancient Mesopotamia about 5,000 years ago, the limestone figurine was found in 1931 in Iraq, near Baghdad. In the head of the lioness, two holes for a cord or chain were preserved: it was intended to be worn around the neck. Since 1948, the work has belonged to the famous American collector Alistair Bradley Martin and has been exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. Announcing the decision to sell the sculpture, Martin promised to send the proceeds to charity.
Antique "Lioness" set a record price for sculptures in 2007 at New York's Sotheby's, moving Picasso's bronze "Head of a Woman" from first place, which sold less than a month earlier for $ 29.1 million. The final price for the sculpture exceeded the initial one by more than three times. Five buyers took part in the struggle for the figurine, the winner of the auction wished to remain anonymous.
Diego's Big Head, 1954
The bronze sculpture depicts Alberto Giacometti's younger brother Diego, he was the Swiss master's favorite model. There are several “heads”, the last of the series was sold at Sotheby’s in 2013 for $50 million. Diego’s Big Head was cast for installation on a street square in New York, work on it was suspended due to the death of the author. The estimate of the sculpture that went under the hammer at Christie's was $25-35 million.
Giacometti has been in the top 10 most expensive artists in the world since 2002, after selling several of the artist's works at Christie's. The most expensive figurine sold then was the third of eight copies of the sculpture "The Cage" - it was estimated at $ 1.5 million. However, it was 2010 that became a landmark for the artist, when Giacometti's works began to be evaluated at the level of Picasso's paintings.
"Nude female figure from the back IV", 1958
Experts call the bronze bas-relief "Nude female figure from the back IV" the brightest of the four works of the "Standing with her back to the viewer" series, and the entire series - the greatest creation of modernist sculpture of the twentieth century.
Until 2010, none of the sculptures of this cycle was put up for auction, although the bas-relief sold at Christie's is not the only one: a plaster cast for each series was cast immediately in 12 copies. The height of one figure is 183 cm, weight - more than 270 kg. The complete Backs to the View series is now housed in nine of the world's leading museums, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Tate Gallery in London and the Center Pompidou in Paris. Only two copies remained in private collections, one of which was sold under the hammer.
"Nude female figure from the back IV" was originally estimated at $ 25-35 million, and the amount paid for it became a record for a Matisse work ever sold at auction.
Madame L.R., 1914-1917
The legendary sculptor of Romanian origin gained worldwide fame in Paris, where he lived for 35 years. His work had a great influence on the development of modern sculpture, Brancusi was called the founder of sculptural abstraction. From the very beginning of its existence, the Pompidou Center has had a separate “Brancusi Room”.
Wooden figurine of Madame L.R. was created by Brancusi in 1914-1917. This is one of his most famous works. It is believed that "Madame L.R." conveys the traditional style of Carpathian carving and the influence of African art on the author's work. The sculpture was sold in 2009 at Christie's as part of the art collection of the French couturier Yves Saint Laurent.
"Tulips", 1995-2004
“The numbers on the price tag sometimes seem astronomical to me. But people pay such amounts because they dream of joining the art process. Their right,” argued Jeff Koons in an interview with Interview magazine after his “Tulips” were sold for $ 33.7 million. Koons is called the most successful American artist since Warhol.
"Tulips" are one of the most complex and largest sculptures from the Festive Series (with apparent weightlessness, they weigh more than three tons). This is a bouquet of seven intertwined "balloon" flowers, made of stainless steel and coated with translucent paint.
The sculpture, which, according to the author's intention, reveals the concept of childhood innocence, was bought in 2012 by one of the most extravagant heroes of Las Vegas, casino owner and billionaire Steve Wynn. He chose to showcase the acquisition at Wynn Las Vegas, a "public art" businessman who often exhibits items from his collection at his resorts.
Sold at public auctions:
1. A bronze statue 183 cm high. The author is the famous Swiss master Alberto Giacometti. The sculpture was created in 1961. Sold on 03.02.2010 at Sotheby's (London) for $104.327 million. This work of art broke all records, becoming the most expensive sculpture ever sold at auction.
2. Skull made of platinum and encrusted with diamonds. It is a slightly reduced copy of the skull of a 35-year-old European who lived between 1720 and 1810. The author is British artist Damien Hirst. In 2007, the skull was exhibited at the White Cube, after which it was bought for investment purposes for 50 million pounds sterling or $100 million. At the moment, the "Diamond Skull of Damien Hirst" is the most expensive work of art of our time (during the artist's lifetime).
3. the famous Italian artist and sculptor Amedeo Modigliani, created by him in 1910-1912. The sculpture resembles the eminent bust of the famous Queen Nefertiti, which is preserved in the Egyptian Museum in Berlin. Sold in 2010 in Paris at Christie's auction for $ 59.5 million. This sale was a record for Modigliani.
4., which was born in ancient Mesopotamia about five thousand years ago. The author of the small figurine, 8.26 cm high, remains unknown. The sculpture was found in Iraq, not far from Baghdad. "The Lioness of Guennola" found its owner on December 5, 2007 in New York at Sotheby's for $57.161 million.
5. Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti is a bronze sculpture 65 cm high. Created in 1954, the creation depicts Giacometti's brother Diego. It is curious that Diego throughout his life was the favorite model of the Swiss master. The sculpture was sold in 2010 for $53.282 million at Christie's auction, significantly exceeding the original estimate.
6. A bronze bas-relief called in 2010 was sold at Christie's auction for $ 48.8 million, with an initial estimate of 25-35 million US dollars. The sculpture was created in 1958 by the famous French impressionist Henri Matisse.
7. On February 23, 2009, a wooden sculpture was sold under the hammer for $ 37.2 million at Christie's auction. The author of the statuette is the outstanding Romanian sculptor of the 20th century Constantin Brancusi. “Madame L.R.” conveys the traditional style of Carpathian carving and the influence of African art on the author's work.
8. is the most famous work of Henry Moore, an outstanding figure in world art of the last century. The sculpture, 244.5 cm long, was created in 1951. Sold on November 7, 2012 at Christie's public auction for $30.148 million.
9. "Head of a Woman"(Tete de Femme, Dora Maar) by the great Spanish artist, sculptor, graphic artist and designer Pablo Picasso. The sculpture depicts the French artist and photographer Dora Maar, Picasso's lover. In November 2007 at Sotheby's "Head of a Woman, Dora Maar" 80 cm high was sold for $ 29.161 million.
10. unknown author, dating from the 1st century. BC e. - I century. n. e. sold in New York at Sotheby's for $28.6 million.
11. Alberto Giacometti, 274 cm high, was sold on May 6, 2008 at Christie's for $ 27.481 million. The sculpture was created between 1959 and 1960.
12. (1922-1923) Constantina Brancusi (aka Brancusi) in 2005 went to auction at Christie's for $ 27.456 million. Purchased by the joint efforts of 3 American dealers.
13. Alberto Giacometti topped 13th place among the most expensive sculptures. The sculpture, created in 1948, left Christie's (2010) for $25.84 million.
14. "Flower-Shaped Balloon (Red-Purple)" contemporary American artist Jeff Koons on the first day of the London auction in 2008 was sold for $ 25.783 million Balloon Flower (Magenta) - the most expensive work of art by a living artist.
15. Top 15 most expensive sculptures in the world closes the abstract sculptor, American by birth David Smith with his work (1965). This sculpture was sold in 2005 at Sotheby's for $23.816 million.
The list below does not claim to be a strict rating status: it does not matter the age of the work, nor the material from which it is made, nor the place of sale (gallery or auction); the main thing is that all these transactions did not go unnoticed by the art market. And of course, the amounts are impressive
Alberto Giacometti. walking man
1961. Height 183 cm. Estimate: 12-18 million pounds. Price: 65 million pounds (104.3 million dollars). Sotheby's. London. February 3, 2010
Damien Hurst. For the love of the Lord
2006. 17.1 x 12.7 x 19.1 cm. Price $100 million. Private sale. August 2007
Unknown author. Lioness Guennola
OK. 3000–2800 BC e.Height 8.26 cm. Estimeyt: 14-18 million dollars. Price $57,161,000. Sotheby's. New York. December 5, 2007
This tiny sculpture, just over eight (!) centimeters high, was created about 5 thousand years ago in ancient Mesopotamia. The figurine was found in Iraq, not far from Baghdad. It's hard to believe, but she is the same age as the wheel, money and the world's first big cities! The baby lioness spent almost 60 years in the collection of Alastair Bradley Martin (Alastair Bradley Martin), until in 2007 they decided to put her up for auction. At Sotheby's, the sculpture exceeded the estimate by three times and became the most expensive work of ancient art in history. It was meant to be worn around the neck.
Pablo Picasso. woman head
(Dora Maar). 1941. Height 80 cm. Estimate 20-30 million dollars. Price $29,161,000. Sotheby's, New York. November 7, 2007
The sculpture of the beloved artist Dora Maar (Dora Maar) with chubby cheeks was cast in two copies. In 2007, a record-breaking year for the art market, the work became the most expensive sculpture in the world, but it did not hold this proud title for long: less than a month later, Dora Maar threw the Lioness of Guennola off the pedestal
Unknown author. Artemis with doe
1st century BC e. - I century AD e. Height 92.1 cm. Estimeyt 5-7 million dollars. Price $28,600,000. Sotheby's. New York. June 7, 2007
This beautiful sculpture is surprisingly well preserved. At the Sotheby’s auction, a real “bidding war” broke out for it: first, two potential buyers ran out of steam at around $12 million, then a third one joined the game, and the price of the sculpture rose to $28 million in ten minutes, exceeding the upper estimate four times. So "Artemis with a doe" became the most expensive work of ancient art.
Alberto Giacometti. Large standing woman
1959–1960 Height 274 cm. The estimate was not openly reported. Price $27,481,000. Christie's. New York. May 6, 2008
This bronze female figure, with arms and legs as thin as twigs, looks very fragile in the photograph, but in fact she is a real giantess: her height is almost three meters! .. Four such sculptures were cast, and "Large Standing Woman II" is the highest among them. Like Walking Man I, it was commissioned by Chase Manhattan Bank. "Big Standing Woman II" bought none other than the big-name dealer Larry Gagosian (Larry Gagosian).
Constantin Brynkushi. Bird in space
1922–1923 Height 121.9 cm. Estimeyt 8-12 million dollars. Price $27,456,000. Christie's. New York. May 4, 2005
"Bird in Space" appeared on the art market quite unexpectedly, one might say, like a devil from a snuffbox. When Christie's Impressionist and Modernist auction catalog was ready, the auction house expert Thomas Seydoux was contacted by a client who wished to put up for sale an unknown sculpture by Brancusi. According to the seller, the work was found in the attic of a mansion on an estate somewhere in northern Europe. Of course, experts began to doubt whether this was a fake, because not a single researcher of Brancusi's work had ever heard of this work. The sculpture was sent to the main authority on Brancusi, Friedrich Teja Bach (Friedrich Teja Bach), who found that the ancestors of the owner of the work acquired it from Alexander Stoppeler (Alexandre Stoppelaere), the wife of a socialite, patroness of avant-garde artists Léonie Ricou.
Jeff Koons. balloon flower
(Purple) 1995–2000. 40 x 285 x 260 cm. Price $25,783,062. Christie's. London. June 30, 2008
Balloon Flower (Purple) is the most expensive sculpture by a living artist ever sold at auction. It also ranks second on the list of the most expensive works by living artists. This huge stainless steel sculpture is part of the famous Celebration series, which includes all the most famous creations of the artist: Inflatable Dog, Tulips, Hanging Heart and so on.
David Smith. Cubi XXVIII
1965. 114.3 x 274.3 x 279.4 cm. Estimate 8–12 million dollars. Price $23,816,000. Sotheby's. New York. November 9, 2005
The piece Cubi XXVIII was the last in this series, shortly after its creation, the artist died in a car accident. The sculpture was in the New York Guggenheim Museum for a long time, until it was decided to put it up for auction. November 9, 2005 at New York's Sotheby's Cubi XXVIII became the most expensive work of the post-war artist. It was bought by the same Larry Gagosian, but not for his gallery, but on behalf of the collector Eli Broad (Eli Broad)
Jeff Koons. hanging heart
1994–2006 101.6 x 296.2 x 215.9 cm. Estimet 15-20 million dollars. Price $23,561,000. Sotheby's. New York. November 14, 2007
And here is another work by Koons from the "Triumph" series. In November last year, she took first place in the list of the most expensive works of living artists and stayed there for six months until she was thrown out of there by Lucian Freud's "Sleeping Benefit Inspector". The Hanging Heart was bought by Larry Gagosian, but again, not for himself, but for some mega-collector. Interestingly, the seller of the work Adam Lindemann (Adam Lindemann) bought it a year earlier (where would you think?) in the Gagosian Gallery, paying for it "only" 4 million - that is, in a year the price of the sculpture increased by 19 million dollars! Now the Hanging Heart can be seen at the Koons exhibition ... in French Versailles.
Damien Hurst. Sleepy Spring
2002. 10.2 x 182.9 x 274 cm. Estimate 6–8 million dollars. Price $19,213,272. Sotheby's. London. June 21, 2007
Before the resounding sale of Hanging Heart, Damien Hirst's Sleepy Spring was at the top of the list of the most expensive works by living artists. In our list of three-dimensional troublemakers, this is one of two installations - a thin transparent cabinet that contains more than six thousand multi-colored pills. The work was bought by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, Emir of Qatar. Medical themes, as well as skulls, occupy a special place in Hirst's work. Recently, the artist designed in his "corporate style" the website and CD covers of his friends - The Hours. In addition, he acted as the art director of their new video clip, in which the famous actress Sienna Miller (Sienna Miller) portrays a patient in a psychiatric hospital
Pablo Picasso. Crane
1951–1952 Height 72.4 cm. Estimet 10-15 million dollars. Price $19,193,000. Sotheby's. New York. May 7, 2008
Picasso, like many artists of the 20th century, often created sculptures from utilitarian objects. Then he made plaster casts from the resulting "assemblages" and cast the resulting figures in bronze. The artist created the “crane” from a shovel, rods, forks, a crane, nuts and a pin
August Rodin. Eva, big model
OK. 1885. Height 173 cm. Estimate 9-12 million dollars. Price $18,969,000. Christie's. New York. May 6, 2008
On May 6 of this year, the price record was broken not only for the works of Giacometti, but also for the work of the predecessor of all modernist sculpture, Auguste Rodin. His "Eve, large model without a pedestal" was sold at Christie's for $18.9 million. "Eve" is part of the monumental sculptural group "The Gates of Hell", which includes almost two hundred figures. Initially, it was assumed that the Gates of Hell would decorate the main entrance of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris, but these plans were not destined to come true: the museum was never built. Many of the master's works, including the famous sculpture "The Thinker", were conceived as sketches for figures from this sculptural group.
How much would you pay for the sculpture you see in the photo? At first glance, one gets the impression that this is the work of a first-year student, which he sketched in a hurry at the next laboratory work on sculpting sculptures. Yes, and from a second glance - too. If you try to estimate the cost of this, then sums from 5 to 25 dollars come to mind, no more. But everything is much more complicated, at Sotheby's auction for this figurine someone laid out 104 million dollars!
Walking Man Sculpture Sells for $104 Million
This sculpture is called "Walking Man", was created by the famous Swiss Alberto Giacometti. For the Sotheby's auction, this amount is an absolute record in the history of the art trade. Before that, the absolute superiority belonged to Pablo Picasso, whose painting "Boy with a Pipe" was sold in 2004 for $102 million.
Alberto Giacometti in his workshop
As far as is known, ten bidders fought for the sculpture of Giacometti, but the anonymous buyer who conducted the auction by phone won. The value of the Walking Man during the auction increased six times compared to the original price.
