Now

Pierre Bergé
From One Home to Another

Auction in association with Pierre Bergé et Associés.

In what is set to be one of the most hotly-anticipated highlights of the 2018 auction calendar, Sotheby’s and Pierre Bergé & Associés will later this year offer for sale the extraordinary contents of the various homes of one of the most successful and cultured businessmen and aesthetes of our times. Proceeds will benefit foundations close to Bergé’s heart: Fondation Pierre Bergé - Yves Saint Laurent & Fondation Jardin Majorelle.

Reflecting the broad-ranging interests, refined taste and voraciously curious mind of the collector behind them, the 1000 lots to be offered span everything from Antiquity to Modern Art. Previously housed in Bergé's beautiful, and very distinct homes in Paris (Rue Bonaparte), Provence ('Mas Theo'), Morocco ('Villa Mabrouka') and Normandy ('the Datcha'), all decorated by renowned interior designers Jacques Grange, Graff and Peregalli-Rimini, they will be exhibited and sold in Paris over the course of three days this autumn (29 - 31 October 2018). This will be followed, on 14 December at Pierre Bergé & Associés premises, with a fourth day of sales devoted entirely to the auction of books and manuscripts from Pierre Bergé's legendary library.

An aesthete and astute businessman, with a powerful presence in politics and the media, Pierre Bergé (1930-2017) was also a renowned philanthropist, lover of literature and one of the most important collectors of his time. A man of the arts, he amassed, over more than fifty years, an eclectic collection encompassing everything from Antiquity to Modern art, including 16th and 17th century vanitas, orientalist paintings and antique furniture in addition to Islamic, African and Asian art. Not to mention, of course, Bergé’s legendary passion for books and manuscripts.

Central to the collection a dozen paintings by Bernard Buffet which witness the two men’s intense shared history in the 1950s. Of exceptional quality, the works mark a watershed period in Buffet’s style and painting.

An entire auction - the fourth in a series of sales initiated in December 2015 -  will be dedicated to the personal library of Pierre Bergé , comprising books and manuscripts dating from the 15th through the 20th century. While novels feature strongly, Bergé’s passion for philosophy, botany and garden design is also reflected in the sale which will include important illustrated books, such as Le Propriétaire des choses published in Lyon in 1486.

General Inquiries:
Sotheby’s, Céline Deruelle, +331 5305 5311, celine.deruelle@sothebys.com
Pierre-Bergé et Associés, Fabien Béjean-Leibenson, +33 1 49 49 90 32, fbejean@pba-auctions.com

Important notice: Please note that the lots marked with the symbol * will not be exhibited in our galleries at Sotheby’s Paris but will be shown on appointment only. Please contact Nicolas Genou, 06.85.49.95.02. Nicolas.Genou@sothebys.com who will be available to give appointment hours.

With the collaboration of:

Laurence Fligny
Assistée de Benoît Bertrand
Expert près de la cour d’appel de Paris
Expert en Haute Epoque et curiosités
+33 (0) 1 45 48 53 65
+33 (0) 6 88 47 62 42
Laurencefligny@aol.com
Expert for lots: 14, 15, 16, 29, 31, 50, 52, 54, 55, 56, 57, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 68, 69, 70, 71, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78 ,79, 80, 82, 83, 86, 87, 99, 136, 152, 155, 156, 167, 169, 170, 172, 174, 175, 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183, 184, 185, 226, 228, 231, 233, 235, 236, 237, 239, 249, 255, 276, 364, 372, 383, 456 

Maxime Charron
Département Art Russe / Russian Art
+ 33 (0) 6 50 00 65 51
expert@maxime-charron.com
Expert for lots: 612, 613, 624, 625, 626, 627, 628, 629, 637, 639, 641, 642, 646, 648, 661, 664, 674, 693, 696, 697

Christophe Kunicki
Département Archéologie
+33 (0) 1 43 25 84 34
c.kunicki@orange.fr
Expert for lots: 100, 1010 

Travelling and highlights exhibitions:

12-23 October – SOTHEBY’S LONDON
12-20 October – SOTHEBY’S NEW YORK
13-19 October – SOTHEBY’S PARIS
9-12 November – SOTHEBY’S LONDON