Diego Giacometti - Design London Monday, April 28, 2014 | Phillips
  • Provenance

    Private collection, acquired directly from the artist, circa 1979
    Christie’s, New York, 'Furniture and Decorative Works of Art by Alberto and Diego Giacometti', 20 November 1986, lot 258
    Christie’s, New York, 'Impressionist/Modern Day Sale', 7 May 2008, lot 383
    DeLorenzo Gallery, New York, 2008
    Acquired from the above by the present owner, June 2010

  • Literature

    Michel Butor, Diego Giacometti, Paris, 1985, p. 116
    Françoise Francisci, Diego Giacometti: Catalogue de l’œuvre, Volume I, Paris, 1986, pp. 95-97
    Daniel Marchesseau, Diego Giacometti, Paris, 1986, pp. 106-7

  • 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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16

'Carcasse' low table, 'petit modèle à la chauve-souris'

circa 1979
Patinated bronze, glass.
43.2 x 85.1 x 129.2 cm (17 x 33 1/2 x 50 7/8 in.)
Impressed with DIEGO and artist's monogram.

Estimate
£200,000 - 300,000 Ω

Contact Specialist
Ben Williams
Senior Specialist, Head of Sale
bwilliams@phillips.com
+44 207 318 4027

Design

London Auction 29 April 2014 2pm