Jacques Grange // Collectionneur Auction Sotheby’s Paris

This week Sotheby’s Paris held an astounding auction from the collection of Jacques Grange, the French interior designer renowned for his refined and eclectic taste.

The sale comprised of a mix of modern and contemporary art, 20th century design, photographs, antiques, 19th century drawings and Symbolist works. Comprising of 150 lots, the auction took place in Paris on 21st and 22nd November.

Housed in the Palais-Royal apartment that was once home to the novelist Colette, the collection has been continually renewed, enriched and re-thought. Each piece bespeaks the perfect taste and liberalism with which it was chosen, their arrangement in the apartment executed with a unique eye.

The collection features works by leading artists such as Damien Hirst, Jean-Michel Frank, Claude and François-Xavier Lalanne, Hector Guimard, Fernand Léger, Donald Judd, Alberto and Diego Giacometti, Yves Tanguy, Alexandre Noll, Archibald Knox, Victor Brauner, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Paul Klee, Armand-Albert Rateau, Max Ernst, Eileen Gray, David Hockney, Joseph Hoffman, Henri Matisse, Joan Miro and Alexander Calder.

Above / below François-Xavier Lalanne PETIT RHINOCÉROS MÉCANIQUE, 1988

Estimate 100,000€ — 150,000€ Lot sold for 381,000 EUR

Among the highlights are Paul Gauguin’s Brush Holder, from 1887; a circa 1900 torch by Art Nouveau architect Hector Guimard, reputed for his Paris Metro entrances; a circa 1947 armchair by furniture designer and sculptor Alexandre Noll; François-Xavier Lalanne’s Bar autruche, 1966; and a 2001 Damien Hirst spin painting.

Also part of the group is Daniel Buren’s 1991 Cercle/Cadre, a fitting wink to the artist’s Les Deux plateaux (otherwise known as “Les Colonnes de Buren”), a site-specific work from 1986 that Buren created for the Palais-Royal’s Cour d’Honneur.

Above / below Ettore Sottsass SALOMÉ VASE, 1993-2000

Estimate 3,000 — 5,000€ Lot sold for 27,500€

Musing about the range of items in his collection, the 73-year-old Grange continues: “A certain amount was acquired when I was living on the Left Bank. It was very much the moment of dealers like Stéphane Deschamps and others on rue Guénégaud, their vitrines were enchanting. Nothing was driven by marketing then. There was a tremendous spontaneity of spirit and fabulous passion, mixed with outstanding knowledge.”

Above / below François-Xavier Lalanne L’ÂNE DE POMPADOUR, DESIGNED IN 1973, REALISED IN 2001

Estimate 400,000€ — 600,000€ lot sold for 729,000€

Above François-Xavier Lalanne TWO MOUTONS DE LAINE, 1969

Estimate 500,000€— 700,000€ Lot sold for 1,569,000€

Gerrit Thomas Rietveld BILLET ARMCHAIR, CIRCA 1926-1927

Estimate 60,000 — 80,000€ Lot sold for 60,000€

Above / Alberto Giacometti MASQUE AUX SERPENTS SCONCE, DESIGNED IN 1934

Estimate 80,000€ — 120,000€ Lot sold for 513,000€

Cécile Verdier, Worldwide Co-Head of Sotheby’s Design department and Vice-President of Sotheby’s France, said: “It’s a huge pleasure to unveil Jacques Grange’s personal collection to the public. Discovering his private world makes clear in an instant why the world’s greatest collectors clamour to call on him. His interior is a joyous ode to colour and harmony, and as a collector himself, he reveals an unrivalled gift for living with art.”

Above / Damien Hirst BEAUTIFUL, PALE BLUE WITH 2 CIRCLES IN THE MIDDLE LIKE GLASSES, IT’S A LOVELY ONE, 2001

Estimate 350,000€ — 500,000€ Lot sold for 945,000€

above & photographed below in Grange’s apartment Alexandre Noll ARMCHAIR, CIRCA 1947

Estimate 400,000€ — 600,000€ Lot sold for 909,000€

Above / below Tom Wesselmann MOUTH STUDY FOR MINNEAPOLIS CATALOGUE COVER, 1968

Estimate 90,000€ — 120,000€ Lot sold for 429,000€

Jacques Grange has designed the residences of major figures within and outside France, including Princess Caroline of Hanover, Pierre Bergé and Yves Saint Laurent, Paloma Picasso, Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti, Caryl and Israel Englander, Francis Ford Coppola and his daughter Sofia Coppola, Jerome and Sophie Seydoux, Terry and Jean de Gunzburg, Ronald Lauder and his daughter Aerin, Lauren and Andres Santo Domingo, Tobias Meyer and Mark Fletcher, and Barbara Gladstone.

“It’s all about instinct. The rule is that there are no rules.”

To view the full catalogue click here.

Nicky’s World November 2017