SOLD!
Paris - On 23 April, Christie's offered the collection Empire of taste, un appartement madrilène par Billy Baldwin. A renowned decorator who designed beautiful interiors for such personalities as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Greta Garbo, Barbara Hutton, Pauline de Rothschild and Rachel Lambert ‘Bunny’ Mellon to name a few. This Madrid interior was a signature of Billy Baldwin’s style and vision. 2023 marked 40 years since Billy Baldwin’s death but this collection celebrated both his taste and position as one of the great decorators of the 20th century.
Sale total: €2,065,896 | $2,199,813
Reminder of pre-sale estimate: €1,284,800-1,909,000
Number of lots : 125
61% of lots sold above the high estimate
TOP LOT OF THE SALE:
Lot number: 65
The work : LEONORA CARRINGTON (1917-2011), Levitasium, Oil on canvas, 55.2 x 30.1 cm. Painted in Mexico City circa 1950
Sold: €541,800
Pre Sale estimate: €250,000-350,000
Lot essay : Born in 1917 to an Irish mother and English father, Leonora had a rather turbulent childhood and adolescence. After two successive expulsions, her parents enrolled her in a boarding school in Florence and then in Paris. In 1936 she became one of the first pupils of Amédée Ozenfant, who founded the Ozenfant Academy of Fine Arts in London, and the following year joined the Surrealists. Carrington quickly established herself as a major figure in the group, alongside Max Ernst, Nush and Paul Éluard, Man Ray and Lee Miller. More information here.
