L’Homme qui marche I, Alberto Giacometti. Estimate: £8-12 million Price Realized: $104,327,006 via Sotheby’s
Tonight, Alberto Giacometti’s L’homme qui marche I fetched $104,327,006 at Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Evening Sale in London – making it the most expensive work of art ever sold at auction. The bronze sculpture exceeded the previous record of $104.1 million that was set at Sotheby’s in May 2004 by Pablo Picasso’s Garçon à la Pipe. 10 bidders, mostly on telephone, fought a fast and furious battle over a period of eight minutes – the eventual winner was an anonymous client on the telephone with Philip Hook, Senior European Director of Impressionist & Modern Art at the auction house. Sotheby’s had expected the sculpture to bring-in between $19.2 million and $28.8 million. The work was being sold by Dresdner Bank in Germany, which acquired it in 1980.
The sale is still in progress – more details will follow shortly.
Related links after the jump…..
Related Links:
Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Evening Sale
Sotheby’s Sells Giacometti for $104.3 Million [WSJ]
Record £65m paid for Alberto Giacometti bronze sculpture at Sotheby’s auction [Telegraph.co.uk]
Giacometti sculpture fetches £65m at Sotheby’s auction [BBC NEWS]
Giacometti Sculpture Becomes Most Expensive Work Ever to Sell at Auction [ARTINFO]
Giacometti Bronze Breaks World Record Auction Price [NYTimes]
