The Private World of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge

Recent news about Christie’s, in collaboration with Pierre Bergé and Associates, announcing the second sale of Yves St. Laurent and Pierre Berge’s collection has me all in a tizzy. Nevertheless, just as I was unable to attend the first auction in person, there will be no way I will attend this upcoming auction in November.

So, as solace, I just placed my order for The Private World of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge, written by Robert Murphy and photographed by Ivan Terestchenko. The book beautifully catalogues the works that were auctioned off in the first sale, making this a great resource for great art.

I must be really gullible or something, but the book description just about had me jumping out of my pants with excitement:

The star pieces from fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent's art collection including works by Cezanne, Picasso, Mondrian and Matisse have been unveiled in the Grand Palais, Paris, ahead of what auctioneers have dubbed the art sale of the century. Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge amassed the collection together before the designer’s death in June 2008. The works, which had adorned the pairs Paris flats, the Chateau Gabriel in Normandy and their home in Morocco, include antiquities, Old Master and 19th-century paintings and drawings, Art Deco pieces and European furniture and art. Now Pierre Berge has decided to sell the entire collection. It’s the end of an era and the sale has already excited enormous interest and speculation. This book shows, for the first time, the collection in situ in the pair’s homes. Although some pieces have been photographed separately in the past, they have never been photographed together, making this beautifully produced book the ultimate record of one of the 20th century's great collections.

7 Days in the Art World

I just recently purchased a copy of Sarah Thornton's book titled 7 Days in the Art World (which was conveniently available in the art books section of Amazon.com) and can't seem to put it down.  A friend of mine said that Ms. Thornton gave a presentation for a class that she attends about a month ago and swore to me that after hearing her lecture, I absolutely needed to go read this book. I have always loved to read but have never been really been open to the idea of novels or literature surrounding the arts (maybe because it made me think of the tedious, late nights during my years as an undergrad where I would be up at odd hours of the morning struggling with pages out of a very dry art history book).  This book has very much changed my opinion of art literature.   In a very clever and expressive way, the author takes the reader through various aspects of the art market including the auction house, the art gallery, the art school, etc. and gives a very behind-the-scenes look at the way these various organizations function.  It is quite fascinating though I admittedly am only 1 chapter into the book.  The first chapter is about the auction house and presented so much new terminology that I was inspired to go do a little online research of my own.  

Can't wait to continue reading - until my next post... sold!