The first of Sotheby’s extensive auctions of property from the Collection of A. Alfred Taubman concluded last night at Sotheby’s New York with a total of $377 million. The Masterworks sale was led by Paulette Jourdain, one of the finest and final portraits ever painted by Amedeo Modigliani, which sold for $42.8 million. Five bidders competed for the work from all corners of the globe, eventually selling to an Asian private collector. Mr. Taubman acquired the portrait from Acquavella Galleries in 1983.
“Sharing Alfred Taubman’s collection with tens of thousands of collectors and visitors in our galleries in New York, London, and Hong Kong has been a privilege. I am comfortable with tonight’s results, and with more than 400 works still to be sold over the next several months, we are on track to cover most of the total guarantee. Bear in mind that both the hammer and buyer’s premium count towards the guarantee.” Tad Smith, President and CEO of Sotheby’s.
Alaïa – Summer 1992 Evening outfit in black cotton satin and white broderie anglaise Provenance: Bettina
Pierre Balmain – Winter 1953 Black velvet cocktail dress embroidered with chiffon roses by the Lesage Company
YSL Jump 2001
Paco Rabanne Dany 1969
Balenciaga, Oeillets, 1960
Chanel 1960
Chanel 1960
Chanel Romy Schneider 1963
Dior Louvecienne 1957
Sothebys Paris Sale
Mugler 1978
Balenciaga – 1965 Evening dress in point d’esprit tulle by Brivet, entirely covered with appliqué pink feathers by Albert
YSL 1969
On 8 July, www.sothebys.com’s Paris, in association with Kerry Taylor Auctions, will stage its first auction of Haute Couture, which gathers together 150 items from the private collection of Didier Ludot.
Didier Ludot, France’s greatest “fashion antiquarian”, surely needs no introduction: his legendary Palais-Royal gallery is a must for any fashion-lover visiting Paris. Specialising and dealing in vintage fashion for more than forty years, he has carefully selected and set aside many of the most important pieces he has handled for his own personal collection.
With designs by Paul Poiret, Yohji Yamamoto, Madame Grès, Christian Dior, Cristobal Balenciaga, Azzedine Alaïa, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, John Galliano and Comme des Garçons, Didier Ludot’s collection provides a comprehensive overview of 20th-century fashion. The 150 items in the sale are a vibrant tribute to French haute couture and the time-honoured expertise of its craftspeople, including tailors, embroiders, leatherworkers, feather merchants and lace makers. Each piece was carefully chosen by Monsieur Ludot for its technical skill, its beauty, the trademark style of the couturier who created it, or the elegance of the woman who wore it. It is to these women, famous and anonymous alike, whom Didier Ludot owes his vocation. This sale unveils their wardrobes and personal style: Chanel’s sequinned “little black dress” owned by Romy Schneider; the Duchess of Windsor’s psychedelic 60s dress; Loulou de la Falaise’s Yves Saint Laurent hat; Mona Bismarck’s Balenciaga cape; the sculptural dresses Alaïa created for Bettina; the impeccable Dior jacket designed for Josette Day; Barbara Hutton’s Cartier jewel box – and so the list goes on. These elegant women of past and present are an endless inspiration for our fantasies.
