The courtier’s expansive fine art collection from his France estates will also be exhibited globally.
Auction house Christie’s will be placing designer Hubert de Givenchy’s art and furniture collections under the hammer. In an online sale from June 14 to 17 and a live auction from June 14 to 17 in Paris, Christie’s will offer over 1,200 lots curated by Givenchy before his death in 2018 (today, he would’ve been 95 years old).
“We are extremely honored that the family of Hubert de Givenchy has entrusted Christie’s with the auction of his fine and decorative art collection, which combines his clear aesthetic vision for his interiors, with some of the most important collections in the world, “said the president of Christie’s France Cécile Verdier.
Longtime connection
This is not the first time the designer of Audrey Hepburn’s black dress in Breakfast at Tiffany’s is associated with the British auction house. In 1993, Givenchy entrusted them with Monaco’s early eighteenth-century furniture.
It was the first time Christie’s brought together pieces of different categories in that sale. Named the “collection sale,” items offered spanned from paintings to furniture to sculpture to silverware.
Four years later, Givenchy became the chairman of the supervisory board of Christie’s France and part of its international board.
As part of a Venetian aristocratic family, the prolific designer was exposed to fine art from a young age. At 17, he moved from Italy to Paris, where he further studied at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts.
By 1952, at 25 years old, he founded his namesake fashion house and sold it to LVMH 36 years later. Givenchy continued designing for his luxury label until his retirement in 1995.
As head designer, some of his successors are John Galliano, Alexander McQueen, Riccardo Tisci, and currently, Matthew Williams holds the creative director post.
Global exhibition
Givenchy collected paintings and sculptures from “Old Masters to Modern and Contemporary works within his lifetime.” These pieces were stored in his two French mansions Hôtel d’Orrouer (now a Parisian landmark) and le Château du Jonchet (his French countryside estate where he permanently resided).
To share the expansive set to the public, Christie’s will exhibit a curated presale exhibition at its Paris location on June 8. The display will also tour internationally with confirmed dates in Palm Beach, New York, and Hong Kong.
“Through this sale, we are very pleased to be able to celebrate the exceptional taste of Hubert de Givenchy and his lifelong companion Philippe Venet,” read the official statement of Givenchy’s family. “We wish to share the elegance and aesthetic heritage that they have passed on to us in order to inscribe their vision in the history of art and interior design in a universal way.”
Banner photo from @christiesFrance on Instagram.
