On February 23rd, Christie's will auction what has been described as the 'sale of the century'. The collection of Yves Saint Laurent and his long time companion Pierre Berge will be sold in it's entirety and is expected to reach somewhere in the vicinity of 200 to 500 million euros. It is an extraordinary collection and makes for some great browsing on the Christies website. If you have some time this weekend, feast the soul, and take a look at these magnificent sculptures, paintings and objects that have so painstakingly been put together. I feel a little sad that YSL's life passion is on the block only four months after his death but according to Berge he wanted closure and felt that the collection was meaningless without him.
I have ordered one of the catalogues - I don't attend auctions and wave a paddle but I am a catalogue collector. I like to think that catalogues of important sales preserve moments in time, a little bit of history even; after all collections (whatever the monetary value) are about dreams and the journey taken to create them. Once the objects are sold and the collection is divided up each piece will move to a new home and tell another story, no doubt just as interesting, but not the same. For that reason I enjoy reading catalogues and learning how the collections came to be. I love to learn and try to understand the driving force that made certain objects so collectible for their owner.
I guess the moral of this story is that life moves on and objects are transitory in our lives and are only on loan until the next collector comes along.
Enjoy Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge's journey together - it is remarkable, xv
Wouldn't it be fun to attend that one? I like perusing an auction catalog too. I love the one from Katherine Hepburn's auction at Sotheby's in 2004. Kate's 1977 drivers license was estimated to fetch $600-800... It actually was purchased for $5100... Just fasinating.
ReplyDeleteIt would be fun, if money were no object, to go and wave that little paddle to my heart's content.
ReplyDeleteVicki, the auction serves as a reminder to enjoy this day. We're just passing through.
ReplyDeleteI'm going after the catalog to see what was in that wonderful collection.
And wasn't he a visionary designer!
I would love to go with you girls and wave away - wouldn't that be fun! xv
ReplyDeleteI love your 'moral of the story'. You are so smart!
ReplyDeleteI haven't clicked the link yet, but I can only imagine what treasures will be waiting. Thanks for this great post, and thanks for stopping by my blog! I'll add you to my designer blogroll.
ReplyDelete:)
Beautifully written, I love your sentiments Vicki. I have seen pieces of his collection and it's just remarkable. So sad to divide it all up, when no doubt each piece was chosen for a reason and with meaning. I am going to check out the auction site. Great post!
ReplyDeleteBest Wishes
Judith~
Thanks for the info on the Christie's website. I didn't realise they had the pieces shown online. I have a little black leather YSL evening bag with lips as the clasp. I love it but feel sad every time I lay eyes on it. The man was a genius.
ReplyDeleteMust go and visit Christies now.
Hi Vicki, it is indeed an incredible story, sad too to think that collections we have hold something of us and can be painful for those we love when we are no longer around. hugs Margie.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I would LOVE to attend an auction like this... make a lovely afternoon of it... Oh Yves Saint Laurent was lovely wasn't he?
ReplyDeleteamazing, such beauty in a collection.
ReplyDeleteI love reading through catalogues as well, and old wills. Okay, I am strange. Last summer, i read through the wills of James Town/ Elizabeth Town, from 1610-1700 (my family on my moms side is in the book)
Items are passed down through the family and sometimes good friends.
Gawd I would LOVE to see that show!
ReplyDeleteSomewhere there was divine picture of YSL lounging in bed reading with his chihuahua...
i'd love to attend the auction to see all those beauties in person! off to feed my soul now...
ReplyDeleteps. i'm a catalogue collector too and i'm running out of place to store them!
I like your description of catalog in this instance, "catalogues of important sales preserve moments in time."
ReplyDeleteGreat blog and a quick question. What is the name of the company that makes the candles on your blog photo ?
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Patricia
Patricia, the candles are from a Parisian company called, Mathias - the site is www.mathias-paris.com
ReplyDeleteThey are wonderful candles but becoming increasingly hard to find although some fragrances are available on line. Hope that helps, xv.
I like that you keep the catalogs of various collections, and as you said, they really do represent people's dreams and their journey taken to create them - you know, that makes you a keeper of the dreams. How lovely is that?
ReplyDeleteHappy Weekend!
xo Isa
Hi Vicki, thanks so much for stopping by my blog and your sweet words about my little guy! You have a beautiful blog, I can't wait to delve in. Thanks for sharing the info. on what will clearly be an amazing auction, what a fascinating life! Hopefully you will share some of the sure to be incredible treasures featured in the catalog. Have the most wonderful weekend!
ReplyDeleteOhhh ... I wish I could go to this one, but you would have to keep the paddles away - I'd probably get carried away and leave with a $10k snuffbox.
ReplyDeleteI hope this isn't a duplicate - I just left you a comment and lost it somehow. Will try again. Okay, so -
ReplyDeleteI remember so many of the things collected by Yves and Pierre from viewing their homes in magazines over the years. Such exquisite taste. The Russian desk set of Shagreen and silver that belonged to Czar Nicholas II is a paddle-waver for me. I love these catalogs too, although they make me sad. I have the boxed set of The Duke and Duchess of Windsor's auction from Sotheby's which I picked up for about 10 US. They sure loved those Pug dogs!
Catherine
how i would just love to attend the auction and feel the ambiance there...
ReplyDeletei think it's sad too and at the same time, things must go with the flow..
i admired H. de Givenchy when he put some of his art collection to auction.
thanks for mentioning the site!
Wow that will be some sale. I would love to attend. And it would be a dream to buy.
ReplyDeleteNow that's what I call serious shopping...He is such an extraordinary man and what a collection!
ReplyDeleteWell said.. objects are just on loan... and just objects in the end.. but oh how I love objects!!!
ReplyDeleteHope you have a lovely weekend!
xx Trina
I am a collector of auction catalogs, too. Like little history books of beauty. It is a little sad to see someone's posessions sold to the highest bidder. But really, I think Yves is on to brighter things now and probably does not care!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the catalog link, I am neglecting many chores to view it! I hope you don't mind, but I have linked your inspiring blog to mine.
ReplyDeleteVicki - I must confess to being a former paddle waver. It was a bit like going hunting and coming home with great trophies ... . but, alas it's only stuff. The stuff eventually returned to more auctions at Sotheby's and Christies - and found new homes. Of the hundreds of catalogs, I've kept only one: The Jewels of the Duchess of Windsor. I did a bit of paddle waving at that auction, but Kelly Klien beat me out for those pearls.
ReplyDeleteWaaay over estimate!
Vicki - I must confess to being a former paddle waver. It was a bit like going hunting and coming home with great trophies ... . but, alas it's only stuff. The stuff eventually returned to more auctions at Sotheby's and Christies - and found new homes. Of the hundreds of catalogs, I've kept only one: The Jewels of the Duchess of Windsor. I did a bit of paddle waving at that auction, but Kelly Klien beat me out for those pearls.
ReplyDeleteWaaay over estimate!