One of the oldest and most renowned auction houses in the world, Sotheby’s, has announced the auction of an artistic masterpiece from Alberto Giacometti, the world renowned Swiss sculptor. The auction of the ‘L’Homme qui marche I’ is slated to begin on February 3rd, 2010 in London and as per the auction house officials, the sculpture is expected to fetch an astounding $19 to $20 million.
The sale event at Sotheby’s is part of the organization’s Evening Sale of Impressionistic & Modern Art initiative. This bronze sculpture from Alberto Giacometti will be the first of its kind from the artist’s huge collection of antiques to be placed on auction in over 20 years. The proceeds from the auction of the ‘L’Homme qui marche I’ will go to various foundations owned and operated by Commerzbank, as well as to selected museums.
According to Helena Newman (Co-Chairman, Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Art Department Worldwide),
“Following on from the exceptional price achieved with the sale of L’Homme qui chavire which made $19.3 million against an estimate of $8-12 million at Sotheby’s New York in November 2009, we are delighted to have the rare opportunity to offer a monumental and lifetime cast of this iconic work.â€
This one of a kind modern marvel of art was part of the corporate collection owned by Dresdner Bank AG, but later changed hands to the Commerzbank AG, when the latter took over the Dresdner’s operations in the year 2009 and with it, came acquired the collection of the art works including the ‘L’Homme qui marche I’. Commerzbank is not only putting up the Alberto Giacometti’s life size work for auction, it is also giving various pieces of modern and contemporary art to other museums across the globe, in an effort to promote the artworks to the public and to give a boost to the museums’ current artwork collection.
Via Affluent Page Luxury Index
