YSL Auction Update: Seems like the recession has taken the night off!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous comrade writes:

WORLD RECORD FOR THE MOST VALUABLE PRIVATE COLLECTION
SOLD AT AUCTION
RECORD FOR MOST VALUABLE AUCTION IN EUROPE
Top Lot, Les coucous, tapis bleu et rose, 1911 by Henri Matisse, sells for
€35.9 million / £31.9 million / $46.4 million, a world auction record for the artist
7 WORLD RECORDS FOR ARTISTS AT AUCTION
8 Works of art sell above €5 million
25 Works of art sell above €1 million
3 works pre-empted by museums (Musee d’Orsay – Centre Pompidou)
Paris – At tonight’s inaugural session of the sale of the Collection of Yves Saint Laurent and
Pierre Bergé, offered by Christie’s in association with Pierre Bergé & Associates auctioneers,
one of the most significant collections of Impressionist and Modern art in private hands today
fell under the hammer under the glass domed roof of the Grand Palais. In the presence of
over 1200 collectors from all over the world, 59 works of Impressionist and Modern Art sold for
a total of €206 million / £183 million / $266 million, a world record for a private collection
at auction and a record for the most valuable auction in Europe. The top lot of the evening
was Les coucous, tapis bleu et rose, 1911 by Henri Matisse, which sold for €35.9 million / £31.9
million / $46.4 million, the highest price ever achieved for a work by the artist at auction,
and 8 works of art sold for over €5 million. 25 works of art sold for over €1 million (24 lots
for over £1 million / 25 lots over $1 million). Buyer activity at the auction (by lot / by
origin) was 70% Europe and 30% Americas and 7 world records were set for artists at
auction, including Matisse, Brancusi, Mondrian, De Chirico, Duchamp, Klee and Ensor.

very exciting sale - go to christies.com to see it all

February 24, 2009 9:20 PM