Bonhams Paris offered the art collection of iconic French actor Alain Delon in an auction that more than doubled its low pre-sale estimate to $8.8 million. All but two of the 83 lots in the June 22 sale found buyers.
The flagship lot was a painting by Raoul Dufy, The Bay of Sainte-Adresse (1906), showing walkers in the main seaside resort of Le Havre. It surpassed a low estimate of around $657,000 to sell for $1.1 million. The second tallest was a canvas by Eugène Delacroix, Arabian horse tied to a stake (1825), which more than doubled its low estimate of around $329,000 to fetch around $849,000.
Eugène Delacroix, Arabian horse tied to a stake (1825). Courtesy of Bonhams.
“There are two things that I consider my legacy; my acting career and my art collection,” Delon said in a statement. “I’m so proud of them both. I bought my first drawing in London when I was 24 and have been acquiring works since. People ask me if there’s a thread that ties these pieces together and I say ‘It’s me!’
Delon has been acting since the 1960s, appearing in films like Rocco and his brothers (1960), the Samurai (1967), and Mr. Klein (1976). He won the César for best actor, the French equivalent of an Oscar, for his work in Our history (1984). He has worked with top directors such as Jean-Luc Godard, Louis Malle, Jean-Pierre Melville and Luchino Visconti.
Albert Gleizes, Campaign (1914-1915). Courtesy of Bonhams.
At the sale, a design by Domenico Beccafumi tripled its high estimate of around $88,000, selling for around $265,000. The double-sided sheet shows Saint Anthony on one side and Saint George slaying a dragon on the other. Other top-selling lots included works by Albert Gleizes, Rembrandt Bugatti, Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, and Jean-François Millet. Delon collected in a range of styles and mediums, including naturalistic bronze animal statuettes by Bugatti, a Cubist landscape by Gleizes, and the Renaissance drawing by Beccafumi.
“Alain Delon’s collection, admired from Hong Kong to New York to Paris, was an unprecedented success, reaching 8 million euros, more than double its low estimate,” said Arnaud Cornette de Saint Cyr, president of Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr, based in Paris. “Alain Delon is a living legend of cinema. His taste and his eye have been acclaimed all over the world.
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