Yves Saint Laurent ~ with appreciation

Paris’ Sale of the Century

Inside the Christie’s Auction of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé’s Collection, with Exclusive Photos from the Architectural Digest Archives

Text by Mark Ginsburg Published July 2009

1. Italian (18) $1,238,849

2. Attributed to Maison Bagues $128,139

3. Gobelins $712,886

At the presale exhibition, held over the course of three days at the Grand Palais, more than 30,000 people visited the treasure trove of paintings, sculpture and furnishings that Saint Laurent and Bergé had amassed.

1 to 3. Italian $109,576

4. James Ensor $6,436,600

GRAND SALON, 1976

Architectural Digest shot the couple’s apartment in 1976.

1. Italian $109,576
2. Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann $202,393
3. Jean Dunand $418,966
4. Armand Albert Rateau $1,455,422
5. French (pair) $125,045
6. Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann $94,106
7. Jules Leleu $44,604
8. After Giambologna and Pietro Tacca (pair) $388,027
9. Pierre Legrain $589,130
10. Armand Albert Rateau $388,027
11. French $148,249

12. Eileen Gray $28,238,277

GRAND SALON, 1976

Architectural Digest shot the couple’s apartment in 1976.

1. Jean Dunand $81,731
2. Attributed to Pierre Reymond $137,421
3. Jean Dunand $125,045
4. Jean Dunand $66,261
5. Albert Cheuret $403,496
6. Sir Edward Burne-Jones $774,764
7. Alfred Porteneuve (pair) $155,984
8. French (four) $132,780
9. Ernest Boiceau $774,76

GRAND SALON, 2008

When Christie’s photographed the apartment in the fall of 2008, the grand salon remained mostly unchanged, although the walls were now lined with paintings.

1. Giorgio de Chirico $14,233,226

2. Augsburg $233,332

3. Fernand Léger $7,158,509

4. Fernand Léger $4,559,634

5. Augsburg $233,332

6. Nuremberg $148,249

7. 19th century $140,515

8. Fernand Léger $4,848,398

9. Thomas Gainsborough $2,827,050

10. Henri Matisse $10,623,677

11. Juan Gris $1,383,231

12. Probably Italian $47,698

SALON DE MUSIQUE

Hall of Mirrors

Saint Laurent and Bergé were patrons of art and design as well as collectors. In 1974 the couple commissioned a pair of mirrors from Claude Lalanne for the music room of their rue de Babylone apartment. Ultimately, 15 bronze mirrors with foliate motifs by Lalanne covered the walls. Visible through the space is a Roman torso in the entrance hall.

1. Claude Lalanne $94,106
2. Roman $1,671,995
3. Claude Lalanne (15) $2,393,905
4. Jean Dunand (pair) $808,660

BIBLIOTHÈQUE

Light and Bright

“There is a theme and a continuity to my collections. Of course, there are always fantasies, but it is the base that counts,” Saint Laurent told Architectural Digest in 1976. During AD’s visit, a Joseph Csaky bas-relief was on the fireplace.

1. Joseph Csaky $186,923

2. French $32,228

3. Vilmos Zsolnay $44,604

What a legacy! A shining example of good taste and well spent investments towards a wonderful living environment. YSL understood the value of investing into one's lifestyle. Well done! It is paying back ten fold.