Art Of The Day Weekly
#389 - from 21 May 2015 to 27 May 2015
Aristide Maillol, Nu debout se coiffant, (Bather with arms lifted), 1898 Bronze Epreuve with dark nuanced patina. Fonte Alexis Rudier, Paris. Estimate: €250 000 to €350 000.
Jean Patou, the USA calling
PARIS – “I am French and I hate extravagancies” Patou confided to the Washington Post in 1923, when, not even 40 years old, he was glorified in the USA. All that we remember of this young creator (1887-1936), a contemporary of Chanel and Poiret, is his mythical perfume, Joy. Yet, this forerunner of prêt-à-porter and of eventful podiums, who imported the first top models from New York and invented the first suntan oil, found time to be a collector. The sale of his family fortune brings out some of these models, such as the tomboy sweaters or the Black and White evening dress, as well as his furniture designed by Süe and Mare, a sensual bronze by Maillol or his secret garden, autographs. Here we will see manuscripts by Bossuet, Colette or Proust, but most important the wealthy correspondence between La Fayette and his companions during the war of Independence. No doubt the Americans will continue to show their interest in the one they called “the most elegant man in Europe”.
• Jean Patou, couturier, bibliophile et collectionneur on 22 May 2015 at the hôtel Drouot (Pierre Bergé et Associés).