Diego Giacometti - Design London Wednesday, September 30, 2015 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Private collection, acquired directly from the artist, circa 1968
    Christie’s, New York, 'Important 20th Century Decorative Arts', 14 December, 1985, lot 574
    Acquired from the above, DeLorenzo Gallery, New York
    Alice Lawrence, Connecticut, 1986
    Acquired from the above by the present owner, 2008

  • Literature

    Michel Butor, Diego Giacometti, Paris, 1985, p. 111
    Daniel Marchesseau, Diego Giacometti, Paris, 1986, p. 168
    Diego Giacometti, Möbel und Objekte aus Bronze, exh. cat., Museum Bellerive, 1988, Zurich, p. 75, fig. 59 for a similar example
    Christian Boutonnet and Rafael Ortiz, Diego Giacometti, exh. cat., L'Arc en Seine, Paris, 2003, pp. 90-91

  • Artist Biography

    Diego Giacometti

    Swiss • 1902 - 1985

    In 1935 Diego Giacometti took a holiday in Stampa, the Swiss town in which he grew up. The trip marked one of the first periods in which he was separated from his brother Alberto Giacometti, and perhaps in connection with having removed himself from the shadow of his brother's career, he began his first animal sculptures. It was shortly after this trip that the younger Giacometti also started making furniture, after patrons admired the stands he was crafting for his brother's sculptures. Diego modeled his maquettes in plaster (as opposed to clay or wax, which was the more common choice for sculptors) and cast his furniture in bronze, a departure from most metal furniture at the time, which was cast in iron. Illustrious clients included the Maeght and Noailles families as well as the decorator Jean-Michel Frank, who commissioned Alberto (assisted by Diego) to create plaster lighting and fireplace accessories.

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7

Pair of three-armed wall lights

circa 1968
Gilt bronze.
Each: 33 cm (13 in.) high

Estimate
£120,000 - 180,000 Ω

Sold for £146,500

Contact Specialist
Madalena Horta e Costa
Head of Sale
+44 20 7318 4019

Design

London Auction 1 October 2015