|
A German friend who was stationed in Moscow for five years told us about an exhibit of the Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti not far from here, so we went up to see it yesterday. They had a few originals and may photos of other works of his. A life-sized sculpture of his, "The Walking Man," brought over $100 million at auction earlier this year.
My grandmother was a supporter of modern artists in the 1950s and 1960s and had a few works by Giacometti in her apartment in New York. He was still alive at the time she bought his stuff, and so they cost next to nothing. When she died, all family members got to pick out something from her collection they liked, so it would stay in the family instead of being sold at auction. I picked out a painting by American abstract artist Ad Reinhardt, as it was a study in my favorite hues of blue and purple. As Reinhardt was still alive when she died, it was also assessed at next to nothing. Giacometti died a year before she did, and the assessed value of his work shot way up by the time her estate was dispersed. One of my cousins wanted one her Giacometti sculptures, but when his parents were told it would cost them $8000 in inheritance taxes (in 1966!), they said no way. And so it got sold. If only she explained the importance of Giacometti to me at the time, I would have somehow arranged for her to make a gift to me of one those sculptures before she died.
At the exposition today, I saw a picture that I was sure was one of her sculptures, so I looked it up, and found it on the internet. Sure enough, it was listed as having come from my grandmother's estate. It sold at auction three years ago--for four million dollars!!!!!!
|
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
