Sensational news from London. A sculpture by Alberto Giacometti Walking man I »was sold at auction Sotheby's for 65 million pounds (here and Further all prices include Buyer's Premium. - AI .) and became the most expensive work of art ever sold at auction. Price in U.S. dollars amounted to 104,3 million. The previous record belonged to the cost Picasso's "Boy with a Pipe» , has brought in 2004 58 million pounds (104.2 million dollars).

«man cometh I», according to many experts, is the best creation of Giacometti. The sculpture was cast in 1961 in the amount of six copies. The one that was sold at Sotheby's, - the only one of them, which is in private hands. This is the first in the auction of works of Giacometti's career work of this kind, cast in the life of the author (the artist died in 1966).

For his work, which the estimate was 12-18 million pounds, fought as least four of the buyer. According to Sotheby's specialist Philip Hook (Philip Hook), one of them waited for the appearance of the sculpture at the auction as much as 40 years. But "walking man" in the end went not to him but to another client, whose name, naturally, were not disclosed.

before the auction even venerable members art market with skeptical of assumptions that Giacometti can overstep the mark of 50 million. About 100 million and nobody thought he could not. The previous record price for work of the sculptor was 27,5 million (« big woman standing II », Christie's, May 2008) .

auction brought a total 146.8 million pounds - a record for a London auction. Another top lot, landscape by Gustav Klimt, entitled "Church in Cassone (1913), went to the buyer for the 26.9 million pounds. Sotheby's experts had predicted that the work will go for 12-18 million. Part of the final amount will get the heir to a Jewish collector, which belonged to the painting before the war. The product was stolen after the Nazis sent him to the owner in a concentration camp.

Paul Cezanne Still Life "jug and fruit on the table" (1893-1894) went for 11.8 million pounds in Estimé 10-15 million. Previous appearance of this work at auction (May 2001) was bad: now valued at 9-14 million dollars, no one bought. Twelve years earlier, at the peak of the boom "impressionists," still life sold at Sotheby's for 11.6 million dollars.

At the auction 39 lots were represented, of which eight were left unsold. Pictures of our compatriots, Natalia Goncharova and Marc Chagall , find buyers. Product Goncharova "haymaking" yielded 1.1 million pounds in the evaluation of 600-800 thousand. A "circus" Chagall painting, which was estimated at 1,5-2,5 million pounds, was purchased for 1.7 million.

Last year, everything was much as modest. At February's Impressionist auction-modernism managed to rescue the "only" 32.6 million pounds. 10-million threshold is overcome, only one work - "Little fourteen Dancer by Edgar Degas, pushed for 13,3 million. At that time, many buyers, discouraged by the fact that Sotheby's in connection with the crisis ceased to give guarantees, to opt for private transactions. But towards the end of 2009 the first auction market cheered: November auction impressionists and modernists brought to 181,1 million dollars, with an upper Estimé 164 million. Most pleased all the same Giacometti, whose work "falling man" was sold for 19 million dollars in assessing 8.12 million.

article prepared by Julia Maksimova, AI

Sources: sothebys.com , artinfo.com , bloomberg.com , artinvestment.ru