PRESS RELEASE | LONDON | 25 SEPTEMBER 2015

A VISUAL ODYSSEY: SELECTIONS FROM LAC

 (LAMBERT ART COLLECTION)  

306 OBJECTS, EIGHT CATEGORIES, THREE CENTURIES

London - In a bold new collaboration, Christie’s in association with de Pury is pleased to present ‘A Visual Odyssey: Selections from LAC (Lambert Art Collection)’, staged by Jacques Grange. Featuring 306 objects, spanning eight different categories, across three different centuries and with estimates that range from just £20 up to £5 million, the Lambert Art Collection has a democratic and contemporary spirit that is a testament to a pioneering collecting vision of Baroness Marion Lambert, who was greatly encouraged by her late husband Baron Philippe Lambert. Presented by acclaimed designer Jacques Grange, the auction will be on view from the 3-14 October at Ely House in Dover Street, London, which was built between 1772 and 1776 for the Bishop of Ely.  The sale will also be delivered via a new online experience which will feature rich content, stunning photography and artist videos. The sale will take place on 14 October at Christie’s King St, London, as part of the Frieze week auctions at Christie’s, and will also be live streamed. 

Assembled over generations by the Lambert family, ‘A Visual Odyssey’ demonstrates an energy and flair for collecting across the ages. Each item testifies to the same exacting eye for not only the giants of contemporary art, but also those of the worlds of photography, furniture, design and fashion. A family of collectors – the collection of Baron Léon Lambert’s American contemporary art of the 1950s and Modern masters including Magritte, Dubuffet, Picasso, Giacometti, Warhol and Rothko, was sold at Christie’s in 1987 – the Lambert Art Collection proposes the act of collecting as an artistic pursuit in its own right. Baroness Lambert created the ground-breaking photography collection ‘Veronica’s Revenge’ in 2004, sold by Simon de Pury, which was a turning point for the category and set records across the genre.     

Bold visual resonances proliferate throughout the collection, creating connections across the centuries; the gleaming metallic patina of Rudolph Stingel’s Untitled silver wallpaper motif finds an echo in the gilded decoration of a Louis XV ormolu mounted ebony bureau plat that is the historical point of reference for the collection. Charles Cator, Christie’s Deputy Chairman has said: ‘When I first saw this magnificent Louis XV ebony bureau plat and cartonnier thirty years ago, it stood alone with Alberto Giacometti’s three Grande femme debout and the impact was so strong I have never forgotten it. Paul Gallois in Christie’s furniture team has brilliantly discovered the original owner of the desk – Baron de Besenval (1722-1791), a celebrated collector and friend of Marie-Antoinette. The ensemble is subsequently recorded in the fabled collection of Baron Gustave de Rothschild in Paris from whom it has descended to the Lambert Family.  It is one of the most exciting pieces to come on the market for many years and is an outstanding example of the most up-to-date neoclassical taste in Paris of the 1760s.’ 

Highlights will include works from some the most interesting contemporary artists working today, including Christopher Wool, Ugo Rondinone and Mark Bradford. A focal point of Wool’s recent Guggenheim retrospective, Untitled (1995) is an ambitious summation of the formal vocabulary he has developed throughout his ongoing flower series, incorporating three patterns placed in dialogue with an accumulation of rich yellow gestural brushwork. These sit side-by-side with a selection of photography that stretches from Henri Cartier-Bresson, Erwin Blumenfeld and Josef Koudelka through to Cindy Sherman, Marilyn Minter and Andreas Gursky and furniture from Donald Judd’s late-1980s desk and two chairs to Jean Dunand’s 1920s screen with its prowling panther and rearing cobra engaged in mortal combat. More texture to the sale comes from four 1980s haute couture dresses by Roberto Capucci and a 1953 Topolino car.

On view at Ely House for two weeks from 3 October, Jacques Grange’s staging of the collection will create unexpected juxtapositions and playful encounters across the breadth of art history and encourage viewers to discover connections across all items in the collection.  In another innovation, there will be no hierarchy to the sale with each item in the auction treated with the same integrity with equal weighting across categories and price points. 

The auction will be presented simultaneously on both Christie’s and de Pury websites, both different in concept, and will feature the highest levels of photography and video content to create an unrivalled digital auction experience. Video interviews with a wide range of artists, museum curators, scholars, gallerists and art impresarios, including: John Robinson (British Architectural Historian); Gareth Williams (Creative Director & Former Curator 20C & Contemporary Furniture, V&A); Sir Norman Rosenthal (Director/Curator), Ugo Rondinone (artist) and Philippe Ségalot (Independent Art Dealer, New York), will provide a fresh insight into the collection. Together Christie’s and de Pury will bring unbridled creativity, artistic expertise and digital knowledge to make a radical new auction format.    

Francis Outred: ‘The Lambert Art Collection is the product of a restless, global, cultural mind and heart whose curiosity has been borne across the 20^th Century and is now brought into the 21^stcentury with an exciting and innovative online presentation. The origins of this collection lie with the Lambert family in Belgium, whose matriarch helped to rebuild the banking dynasty after the war.  The collection of Leon Lambert, the Baroness’ brother-in-law, set a new standard for sale of single-owner collections at Christie’s in 1987. The 18^th-century bureau plat and cartonnier form the historical foundation of the auction, its perfect lines, symmetry and gilded decoration resonate with the gleaming sliver-patterned surface of the Rudolf Stingel and the glimmering metallic order of the Plenarsaal, Brasilia, as photographed by Andreas Gursky.  The tense dynamic of the exquisite Jean Dunand screen, first shown at the shown at Galerie Georges Petit, Paris in 1922, with its prowling panther snarling at a coiled, hooded cobra, in turn reverberates with the deep urban underground origins of the masterpieces by Christopher Wool and Mark Bradford.’

Simon de Pury:  ‘This is a highly personal collection where a refined and bold taste runs throughout the mix of high and low and across works of different periods and different values, all of which make it resolutely contemporary in feel. It is most unusual to find in the same collection a French 18^th-century bureau plat and cartonnier, outstanding 20^th-century decorative arts, that range from the gorgeous Jean Dunand screen to the exquisite Donald Judd desk, a collection of posters that students were plastering on the walls of Paris during the May revolts in 1968, and a great group of artworks by Richard Prince, Rudolf Stingel, Ugo Rondinone or Cindy Sherman. In my opinion the three works by Christopher Wool are some of the best abstract paintings by the artist ever to come on the market.’

Christie’s, the leading auction house for Post War and Contemporary art brings together during Frieze week a line up of world-class auctions. A Visual Odyssey sits alongside the Post War and Contemporary Evening Auction, Italian Sale and the Day Sale as highlights of one of the most important weeks in the art-world calendar.

A Visual Odyssey is the first auction to be staged by de Pury – Simon and Michaela de Pury’s new business which develops and delivers digital innovation in auctions. The company will capitalise on the social media capability of Simon de Pury and the extensive online experience of CEO Arnaud Massenet, co-founder of Net-a-Porter, to create an exciting and dynamic sale, set to be a highlight of Frieze week.

PRESS CONTACT: Christies: Belinda Bowring: bbowring@christies.com +44207 389 2677

De Pury: Racheal Campbell Racheal@scott-andco.com +44203 487 0077

More information: Christies.com / de-Pury.com 

Captions (Left to Right)

Page 1

Christopher Wool (B. 1955)

Untitled

Signed, titled and dated ‘WOOL,

Executed in 1995

Estimate: £3,000,000-5,000,000

Page 2

Page 3

Page 4

About Christie’s

Christie’s, the world's leading art business, had global auction and private sales in 2014 that totalled £5.1 billion / $8.4 billion, making it the highest annual total in Christie’s history. Christie’s is a name and place that speaks of extraordinary art, unparalleled service and expertise, as well as international glamour. Founded in 1766 by James Christie, Christie's has since conducted the greatest and most celebrated auctions through the centuries providing a popular showcase for the unique and the beautiful. Christie’s offers around 450 auctions annually in over 80 categories, including all areas of fine and decorative arts, jewellery, photographs, collectibles, wine, and more. Prices range from $200 to over $100 million. Christie's also has a long and successful history conducting private sales for its clients in all categories, with emphasis on Post-War & Contemporary, Impressionist & Modern, Old Masters and Jewellery. Private sales totalled £916.1 million ($1.5 billion).

Christie’s has a global presence with 53 offices in 32 countries and 12 salerooms around the world including in London, New York, Paris, Geneva, Milan, Amsterdam, Dubai, Zürich, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Mumbai. More recently, Christie’s has led the market with expanded initiatives in growth markets such as Russia, China, India and the United Arab Emirates, with successful sales and exhibitions in Beijing, New Delhi, Mumbai and Dubai. 

*Estimates do not include buyer’s premium.  Sales totals are hammer price plus buyer’s premium and do not reflect costs, third-party financing fees or application of buyer’s or seller’s credits.

About de Pury

de Pury is the new online-led auction business founded by Simon and Michaela de Pury. The company aims to set a new standard for online auctions, drawing on the extensive expertise and experience of its principals and a prestigious board of investors and collaborators including CEO Arnaud Massenet, co-founder of Net-a-Porter, the world’s biggest online luxury fashion business. With a firm belief that the Internet represents the biggest challenge and opportunity for the art market, de Pury aims to realise the potential of digital-led sales through developing a radical new online experience.   

Simon de Pury is one of the art market’s most recgonisable figures. Until the end of 2012, Simon was Chairman and Chief Auctioneer of Phillips de Pury & Company, having worked earlier in his career as Chairman Europe and Chief Auctioneer Worldwide at Sotheby’s and curator of the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection. With 135,000 followers on Instagram, Simon is one of the most savvy social media users in the art world.  Dr Michaela de Pury joins de Pury as President, having been Senior Director at Phillips de Pury & Company and before Senior Partner. Michaela was instrumental in securing major consignments and private transactions surrounding key works in all sales categories of Contemporary Art, Design and Photography.

With Arnaud Massenet as CEO, the de Pury team delivers unrivalled senior level experience and digital know-how, with a remit to innovate and develop the auctions business in new and exciting directions.

About LAC  

The Lambert family has been collecting for generations. In 1853, the original Lambert, Samuel founded the Banque Lambert, and became an agent for the Rothschild family in Belgium. He leveraged his talent and skills to become an influential adviser to King Leopold II. His son, Léon subsequently married the daughter of Gustave de Rothschild.  Works by Chagall, Rodin and Matisse, Rothko, Giacometti and Warhol were on public display in Banque Lambert, a financial institution that under the brilliant leadership of Baron Léon Lambert became the second largest in the country.

The current Baroness Lambert, spouse of the late Baron Philippe Lambert, followed the tradition of her family-by-marriage and was responsible for an acclaimed collection of contemporary photography, which toured the world after being rejected by a director of the bank for its perceived inappropriate content. This collection, entitled Veronica’s Revenge,  including amongst others works by Cindy Sherman, Nan Goldin, Andreas Gursky,  Thomas Schütte and Peter Fischli/David Weiss, was auctioned by Simon de Pury in 2004.

About Jacques Grange

A graduate of Boulle Camondo school in Paris, Jacques Grange initiated his professional career as an assistant to Henri Samuel in 1965. He subsequently joined Alain Demachy and Didier Aaron in 1967 and has been working independently since 1970. Having decorated residences for the likes of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé, his style is known for its architectural balance and vivid sense of colour. Mr Grange has mainly focused on private residences, but his work has also included well known hotels such as The Mark Hotel in New York and the exclusive The Palazzo Margherita, owned by Francis Ford Coppola in Bernalda, Italy.  A passionate collector of art and design of the 19th and 20th centuries, Mr Grange is very supportive French artisans whose skills and talent, according to his own account, enable him to express himself in an unequalled manner.  His passion for quality and French craftmanship, is one of the reasons that Mr Grange was promoted Chevalier des Arts et Lettres, Knight in the Order of the Legion of Honour. A book by Pierre Passebon was published in 2008, in both English and French, documenting over four decades of Jacques Grange’s exceptional work.  

*The vehicle is not sold as a means of transport and no promise is made that the vehicle is of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose or roadworthy or that the engine is made totally of Fiat engine parts. Christie’s makes no representation as to the accuracy of “mileage” or odometer readings. If the successful buyer subsequently decides to use the vehicle as a means of transport, he/she is responsible for all tests and repairs and any other legally required formalities that are necessary to convert this vehicle from a collector’s item to a roadworthy vehicle.

Interested buyers are advised to contact Christie’s staff to obtain the Condition Report for this lot. While any description of the vehicle or its condition is given honestly and with appropriate care, Christie’s staff are not vehicle specialists and it is the responsibility of the buyer to carry out such inspection as the buyer thinks necessary before bidding.

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Images available on request