Do you know what I love? Rich French people. Do you know what I love even more? Rich French people who have auctions. The good thing about rich French people is that luckily their taste and style is mostly sophisticated. Not a lot of nouveau riche folks who just won the power-ball lottery and splurged on a RV and headed to Vegas. Rich French people "collect." They collect art and antiques as God intended and for that I am grateful.
On June 8th and 9th in Paris is a very important auction of a sophisticated French couple who collected the best of the best and after donating some of their pieces to French museums have graciously offered the rest to the public via Christie’s Auction House. Be still my heart. Even though I can afford exactly nothing, it's still fun to look.
Nothing describes the couple more eloquently than Jean-Jacques Aillagon in the Christie’s catalog…
Can you imagine this auction! Heaven on earth and yours truly is going come hell or high water. I don't care if my feeding tube bursts and I die at the auction right in front of the Francis Bacon. It's worth it.
Let's look of some of the highlights of the auction…
Not to forget that they also have Bonnard, Picasso, Cézanne, Soutter, Picabia, Richard Serra, Willem De Kooning, Robert Motherwell… In their house!
My favorites are the smalls, the collectibles. Let's take a look at some of my favorites…
The auction starts June 8 at 7pm and June 9 at 2pm. Paris, of course.
http://www.christies.com/salelanding/index.aspx?intSaleID=26663
http://www.christies.com/salelanding/index.aspx?intSaleID=26663
Meet me there?
I LOVE these people...I have always believed that separate bathrooms and if possible, separate wings, are the cornerstone of a good marriage (and not allowing your spouse to interfere in the decoration) - but this is perfection! And I WANT the marble torso...you HAVE to go to this auction, even if it's only to gawk (in a subtle elegant way, of course). And tell us everything afterward!
ReplyDeleteXOXO / Nancy
Oh my such beautiful art and antiques! Imagine living with these lovely items everyday...I would love to peek inside their home.
ReplyDeleteI hope that you can attend the auction. It looks like quite an event!
Our lovely Ellie, It is "request time." I would enjoy having the "golden" opportunity of Your Beloved Gracie and David as your guest on your blog with the brilliant idea you have allowing several of your dearest and closest friends answer the Proust questions!So, as one of your devotees I am requesting that Gracie and David be your next blog writers. Would deeply appreciate this consideration!!! Love and blessings to you Ellie! Redema
ReplyDeleteExtraordinary Ellie, Wouldn't I just love to meet you there! Thank you for sharing...your posts always makes my day! Sending love and hugs from Broomall, PA dear friend. xoxo
ReplyDeleteHey Ellie, I'm so happy to hear that you're getting out to this auction! Those items are beautiful indeed. Yet as much as I pretend, I must truly be a barbarian at heart because Cy Twombly???? WTF. His blackboard scribbles?? I just don't see it...My kid really could have done a better job ��. Loves ya.
ReplyDeleteJo xx
Hello Anon - YOU are not the barbarian! "Aux idiots l'argent file entre les doights" - French proverb. "A fool and his money are soon parted." - English proverb.
DeleteHowever, very happy to see that Ellie is doing better. Hope she can make it to the auction to brush shoulders with "her kind of people".
Smiles from Charlotte Des Fleurs
Well, I took some time writing a thoughtful comment and it seems to have been swallowed by France Telecom's exceedingly bad connection in the hinterlands. So I will try to recreate it, probably not as well.
ReplyDeleteBefore things tightened up with 9/11, I used to go on tours during les Journées de Patrimoine. The advantage of a tour was that you got into places that were off-limits even during the open doors weekend. We got into a room off rue des Francs Bourgeois with an amazing ceiling fresco--kept hidden behind a locked door. And the room in l'Hotel de la Marine (which isn't a hotel but part of the Ministry of Defense) where Marie-Antoinette was held before being guillotined in Place de la Concorde below her windows. And I got into countless government offices behind l'Assemblée Nationale that used to be palaces with gorgeous gardens. All these government offices are full of antiques. The real deal. D'époque, quoi. The gracious interpretation is that the furniture has been there since forever and the ministries have done a huge service to taxpayers by saving untold fortunes in decorating expenses. The tours were full of very BCBG older French couples, both husband and wife wearing blazers and sensible shoes, who knew which king died when (even the unremarkable ones) and who weren't afraid to correct the docent. The BCBG couples would get down on all fours to examine the underside of a Louis XIV commode. I saw this happen year after year. I suppose it helps them avoid getting ripped off by better knowing the real thing.
I have just the apartment for that ceramic lustre. It would be perfect with my Versailles-style boiseries. These things should be distributed on a merit basis, don't you think? My apartment would be the most flattering place to display it.
When I had a membership to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I would go two or three times a week and take my time examining every article. It took me weeks to get through one room of Greek vases (upstairs). Hordes of visitors would dash by on their way to more famous works, and I would slowly work my way through every last vase in a case. Clearly, if I had just ONE gorgeous Greek vase, no matter how cracked, it would be admired on a daily basis, whereas now, in the sensory overload of the Met, I bet not 10 people have taken the time to see all those vases. Really, they should give me just one vase that would be swooned over as it should be. And one for you, too, Ellie.
And one for me too. When I first moved to NYC in 1987 and did not know a soul, I went to the Met once a week with the coins I could find for the suggested admission! I had to walk up! But that was my art education. I didn't miss a vase either and I still like to think that if you blind-folded me and then put me anywhere inside I could find my way out. :)
DeleteI loved everything about this lovely comment.
That looks like heaven indeed. What a fabulous collection and a wonderful love story. I'd be there if I could! xo
ReplyDeleteWhat provenance...
DeleteYou go girl! So happy for you that you're getting out and doing something you love! Crossed fingers that you can snatch a little treasure.
ReplyDeleteThat room/alcove where the De Stael hangs. And the Lalanne lighting fixtures. Be still, my beating heart.
ReplyDeleteWe had two Lalanne sheep in the house growing up. My sister and I would pretend they were real and feed them piles of grass. Sold them in the eighties for a ridiculous sum. Suckers weighed a ton. LOL
ReplyDeleteOh my gawd! yea, you go girl, I would love this, whoa! "If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.
ReplyDeleteIf you always do what interests you, at least one person is pleased". “Sometimes
I wonder if men and women really suit each other. Perhaps they should live next
door and just visit now and then.” Katerine Hepburn....me = I'd love having my own floor !!! ;-)))
I am praying you make it to this extraordinary event !!! If I were in Paris I would wheel you myself - tube and all !!💓💓
ReplyDeleteOmg I hope you get to go ! We'll.be waiting with bated breath for your full report..xoxo
ReplyDeleteYou HAVE to go and be our eyes and ears on the ground! Not only seeing the antiquities first hand but the whole process will be like a piece of theatre! You will get such a buzz! Maybe you sneak a little marble bust in behind your machine! They'd never notice!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post. Fabulous!
Cheers,
Deborah - Melbourne, Australia
I found a number of things that I need. Like the Egyptian cat and the doves and.... And .., and ..,
ReplyDeleteBut I bet they don't let just anybody in to bid.
I can't wait to hear about the auction
Judy
I hope you can go, Ellie, because I would love to see the real thing through your eyes. In the meantime, I would take one of each please, even Cy Twombly. Bisous.
ReplyDeleteEllie, you are a delight!! You are such a romantic... (except for the bursting feeding tube part (!)....ummm.... try not to spray all over one of those pricey paintings or poor Bunny will be spending the remainder of his days paying for it! :) I'm thrilled if you get to go to the auction. And what a couple. The way they lived apart but together sounds intriguing.
ReplyDeleteAnd I haven't commented on your guest bloggers yet but love their insights. Very special to me was Dr. Cox. I love the very soul and drive of this man and am glad you are on his team. Thank you for your work.
Many prayers, hugs and best wishes to you and your family Ellie, as always, everyday.
B. XXOO
Ellie, as always you have been contributing to my education of the finer things in life. I gratefully THANK YOU for all the knowledge I have gained. This auction looks fabulous and I hope you will let your adoring public know how it goes. My favorite friends are the ones I learn the most from. Prayers for your continued strength. xoxox Vicki
ReplyDeleteSO interesting and beautiful. And I loved reading their biography!
ReplyDeleteWow. Lovely pieces. If I could have just one, I think it would be the Lalanne bronze "branches" chandelier. I have just the place for it. Hope you attend the auction and report back to us - because we enjoy experiencing Paris vicariously.
ReplyDeleteBe still my heart. I want everything. Perfection. A true love story. xoxo Mary
ReplyDeleteHow lovely to think of lives lived in this way. Thank you for the glimpse into their extraordinary stories. Reminds me a bit of the YSL estate.
ReplyDeleteThis post sounds like you, Ellie...just like all the posts I've enjoyed over however long it's been since I found you. I pray it is so, by some magic or miracle? Please do go to the auction if it's in the cards and be your loyal followers' eyes and ears.
ReplyDeletePlease pass the Bacon...or the Soulages...or the 1970 Twombly...or the really unusual de Stäel...or...all of it.
ReplyDeleteLove you. You are amazing.
Aah.. those suitcases.. oh my.. ! thanks for insight.. wow!
ReplyDeleteHoping that you and your family are safe and sound amidst all the flooding there, Ellie. Worrying about you! And hoping that suction's still a go for you on the 8th...
ReplyDeletePenny
Yes! Would love to go and meet you there!
ReplyDeleteBONANZA!!!
ReplyDeleteXOXO
Just those two small birds. enough for me! I wish I had known you before I sold the Francis Bacon my husband Adam inherited from his fabulous uncle (I think it was ugly!) (Archibald Septimus!) Adam's grandfather was an immigrant from Italy...he named his two sons after Roman emperors.....and rose to the top of society in San Francisco! NOT EASY!!!! Three boys came in 1880 from the same village near Lucca......; to San Francisco....one started the bank of Italy....(now the bank of America; one went to the Napa Valley..."this looks like where we grow wine grapes in Italy" and one started the commercial poultry business in the western US! That one was Adam's grandfather!!!! I think I do not get Francis Bacon!! Off it went!
ReplyDeleteThe gold chandelier!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pieces - and WOW, all that luggage!
ReplyDeleteSo hoping you were able to attend today! Waiting patiently for all the juicy details!! Wishing you all the best from Arizona. Just discovered your blog cannot wait to see Paris and Provence!
ReplyDeleteBon jour Ellie de Arizona �� As we are here sizzling in the 111 degree heat...I am loving your blog, just discovered it! Cannot wait to get to Paris to visit all the beautiful places you describe!!✈️ Hoping for next spring! Cannot wait to hear all about the auction and anything you were lucky enough to bid on! Keep us all updated ! Your extremely "hot" friend in the desert!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Friend,
ReplyDeleteNo doubt you've already seen these pics- but on the off chance you haven't, check out these great images of the apartments!
http://markdsikes.com/2016/06/20/his/?utm_source=Register-+Mark+D.+Sikes%3A+Chic+People%2C+Glamorous+Places%2C+Stylish+Things&utm_campaign=65213cd004-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b690e1f3e6-65213cd004-304611105
Best Always,
Jeff