Even in a sluggish public sale market, the design class—specifically when boasting notable works by Tiffany Studios, Les Lalanne, and Alberto Giacometti—continues to be a brilliant spot at public sale, with Christie’s two current gross sales totaling $23.6 Million.
“You’re additionally interesting to such a broad vary of collectors. You’re now not simply on this like, area of interest group of individuals,” Carpenters Workshop senior gross sales affiliate Betsy Beierle informed ARTnews. “Even in a hesitant market, when one thing’s uncommon and when one thing’s scarce, that’s undoubtedly going to outweigh any form of sluggish performing that’s happening.”
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On June 12, the single-owner sale ‘American Avant-Garde: The James D. Zellerbach Residence by Frances Elkins’ totaled $8.1 million, whereas the public sale home’s Design sale yielded $15.4 million.
The highest lot for the day was the three-pane, six-foot-tall The Goddard Memorial Window by Tiffany Studios with an estimate of $2 million to $3 million. After bids between a Christie’s specialist on the telephones and a web based bidder, the latter received with a hammer bid of $3.5 million, or $4.285 million with charges.
This was the second-highest value realized for a notable work from the artist’s studio, after the Danner Memorial Window sold for $12.5 million with fees at Sotheby’s Fashionable Artwork night sale final November, smashing the outdated document of $3.4 million for a ‘Pond Lily’ lamp bought by Christie’s in 2018. The Goddard Memorial Window was bought to help the continued development of St. Luke’s Church’s missions and endowment.
The end result for the The Goddard Memorial Window additionally adopted two current acquisitions of monumental panorama works by Tiffany Studios at main artwork establishments. In 2023, the Metropolitan Museum of Artwork acquired the three-part, 10-foot-tall, 7-foot-wide Backyard Panorama. Last month, the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, announced it had acquired the monumental panorama stained glass window Mountain Panorama (Root Memorial Window).
Alberto Giacometti’s Essential and Uncommon ‘Oiseau’, Curved Model, circa 1937. CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD. 2025
Out of 34 tons, the overwhelming majority of whole for the single-owner sale got here from its high two choices: a pair of Essential and Uncommon ‘Oiseau’, Curved Model, circa 1937 by Alberto Giacometti, each with estimates of $2 million to $3 million. The primary of the five-foot vast plaster fowl sculptures realized $2.954 million, whereas the opposite bought for $2.833 million, each quantities together with charges.
The opposite two tons from the design sale which surpassed seven figures had been works by French sculptor Claude Lalanne. The bronze and copper chandelier Distinctive ‘Construction végétale aux papillons, souris et oiseaux’ Chandelier, 2000 hammered at $1.5 million, or $1.865 million together with charges, on a excessive estimate of $1.8 million.
Different examples of Construction végétale chandeliers by Claude Lalanne with related estimates had bought for $2.4 million to $4.4 million at design gross sales in Paris in 2021 and 2022. Whereas demand for works by Claude Lalanne and her husband François-Xavier Lalanne continues to grow amongst new collectors, Bierele mentioned the outcomes on June 13 mirrored a shift to a “extra considerate” artwork market.
“We’re seeing it at artwork festivals,” she mentioned, noting her decade of expertise at Tempo Gallery, in addition to a director at Rhona Hoffman Gallery in Chicago and as a personal marketing consultant earlier than becoming a member of Carpenters Workshop in 2022. “Persons are taking their time, and it’s refreshing. It’s a reset. That’s completely what’s occurring.”
Claude Lalanne, L’Enlèvement d’Europe, designed in 1990. CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD. 2025
L’Enlèvement d’Europe, designed in 1990, depicts the Greek god of Zeus remodeled right into a bull with the princess Europa on his again. The primary version of 6.5 foot-tall, 6.5 foot-long bronze sculpture attracted bids from two specialists on the telephones and a web based bidder earlier than it hammered at $900,000, or $1.134 million together with charges, on a excessive estimate of $1 million.
When the identical version of L’Enlèvement d’Europe final appeared at public sale at Sotheby’s New York on December 18, 2013, it sold for $485,000 with fees, on a excessive estimate of $350,000.
“It didn’t explode, however I feel it’s nonetheless honest to say it’s a robust end result,” Beierle mentioned, noting the piece’s monumental measurement, and the primary time the artist used the misplaced forged wax methodology on a singular sculpture. “An actual Lalanne collector goes to need that piece to place a feather of their cap.”
After the $16.4 million end result for François-Xavier Lalanne‘s Grand Rhinocéros II sold for $16.4 million at Sotheby’s design sale the day earlier than, there have been bidding wars for 2 of the French sculptor’s smaller works at Christie’s, together with one in a well-recognized form.
François-Xavier Lalanne’s Le Métaphore (Canard-Bateau), circa 2022. Courtesy of CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD. 2025
Rhinocéros bleu, 1981 zoomed previous its excessive estimate of $70,000 to hammer at $260,000, or $327,600 with charges. Le Métaphore (Canard-Bateau), circa 2002 did even higher, surpassing its excessive estimate of $120,00 by greater than 400% after hammering at $530,000 or $667,800 with charges.
Beierle mentioned the outcomes mirrored the cheeky, charming, surrealist and enjoyable themes interesting to a rising variety of collectors, whereas being “slightly bit simpler to stay with” in comparison with Grand Rhinocéros II.
“I feel you may very a lot simply say that you’ve a rhino, however you may clearly pack that one up and transfer it to a different residence, reasonably than the desk, which clearly goes to be a fairly a distinct carry,” she mentioned with amusing.
