BEST ART: Most Expensive Work of Art Ever Sold At Auction: Giacometti's "Walking Man" Breaks The Record

Alberto Giacometti’s life size bronze, “L’Homme Qui Marche I” (Walking Man) made history last month becoming the most expensive work of art ever to sell at auction; it sold for £65, 001,250 ($100.3 million) at Sotheby’s of London on February 3, 2010. The final sale price just beat the previously held record, set in 2004 by Pablo Picasso’s “Garcon a la Pipe” (Boy With A Pipe) at $100.1 million, but stunned bidders and bidding wannabes from all over the world anticipating a sale price closer to the estimated £12–18 million. Kind of ironic for a bronze sculpture with existentialist themes…

"L'Homme Qui Marche I" at auction at Sotheby's London.

Working the phones at Sotheby's Impressionist and Modern Art Auction.

What’s even more ironic is that this record-breaking sale comes at a time of historic, worldwide economic crisis and recession. Obviously there are those who are not feeling the pinch – ten to be exact (ten buyers were involved in the eight minute bidding, narrowing down to two after the bid hit 50 million). According to two London based art dealers, the piece was purchased by Lily Safra, the Brazilian-born widow of Lebanese banker Edmond J. Safra, who died in a fire in his Monaco apartment in 1999. (Forbes says her net worth is $1 billion). The seller, Commerzbank AG, a German bank that inherited the work when it took over Dresdner Bank last year (also a result of the economic crisis), says it plans to use the proceeds to fund philanthropic endeavors…

Giacometti's "Walking Man".

There are two versions of “Walking Man,” I and II, each in editions of six plus artist proofs. The six-foot-high bronze was initially acquired in 1961 by New York art dealer Sidney Janis, who bought it from Galerie Maeght in Paris, according to the auction catalogue. But interestingly enough, these world renowned figures came to be thanks to a New York achitect by the name of Gordon Bunshaft who commissioned Giacometti to create a large group of figures for the outdoor plaza of Chase Manhattan Bank in New York in 1956. The public art project was never completed but it was the American connection that encouraged Giacometti to create larger-scaled works.

Alberto Giacometti.

So just how do works of art fetch such phenomenal prices in today’s economy? Apparently, it’s simple economics - supply and demand. According to Georgina Adam, editor-at-large of The Art Newspaper, the price was so high because there are so few Giacometti sculptures and it was very rare for them to be put up for auction. The Giacometti sale was a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity”. In fact one of the bidders said he had waited 40 years for this work to come up for auction. The sculpture is considered to be one of the most important by the 20th-century Swiss artist.

Alberto Giacometti.

Melanie Clore, Deputy Chairman of Sotheby's, says the answer is five-fold: condition, rarity, reputation of the artist, competition, and confidence that the piece will at least hold its value. "The competition which generated these exceptional results demonstrates the continued quest for quality that compels today's collectors," says Clore.

Giacometti at work.

It makes sense that in times of economic crisis and financial bailouts, investors would be keen to move their moneys towards more tangible investments such as art, antiques, precious metals and stones. And as the returns continue to grow, so will the art market. And if Sotheby’s Impressionest and Modernist auction last mon this is any indication, “la tendance” seems to be moving in an upward direction for now. Investing never looked so good!

Sotheby's employees move works for the Impressionist and Modern Art auction in London.
The large painting is by Gustav Klimt, the still life is by Paul Cezanne.

But you don’t have to be a billionaire to get a glimpse of and appreciate truly fine works of art such as Giacometti’s “Walking Man”. Fortunately for the rest of us, it can be seen in several museums around the world: Carnegie Institute Museum of Art (Pittsburgh, PA), Albright-Knox Art Gallery (Buffalo, NY), National Gallery of Art (Washington DC), Kröller-Müller Museum (Otterlo, Netherlands), Fondation Beyeler (Basel, Switzerland ), Louisiana Museum of Modern Art (Humlebaek, Denmark), Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago, IL), Herbert F. Johnson Museum, Cornell University, (Ithaca, NY) and Fondation Maeght (St. Paul-de-Vence, France).

I’ve seen the one in St. Paul de Vence, along with several other works by Giacometti – it’s definitely worth the trip!