Jean-Michel Frank is at the forefront of furniture and furnishing with his designs already announcing the post-Art Déco. Alberto exercises his skills to create for Frank new utility models of lamps, vases, bowls, andirons, consoles and chimneys. With Tériade who was to be the creator of the magazine Verve, Alberto tries to define his own way between surrealism, cubism and tribal art.
Frank dies in 1941. Becoming after the war a major artistic creator, Alberto leaves his decorating activity except for very few friends including Tériade. His chandeliers are thus extremely rare examples of abstract sculpture from the period of his greatest maturity.
On October 20, 2007, Artcurial sold artworks by Alberto from the deceased estate of Alice Tériade. Amateurs recognized the importance of that provenance and the estimates were totally overcome. This group consisted of a torch lamp and two floor lamps from the Frank period, the bronze of a standing woman and three chandeliers that had adorned Tériade's residences.
The largest chandelier, 129 cm in diameter, made of iron and plaster around 1954 with four lights between two circles surrounding a large suspended cone, was sold for € 1,92M including premium over a lower estimate of € 70K. It is estimated £ 1.5M for sale by Phillips in London on April 26, lot 215.
Here are the results obtained by Artcurial for the two other chandeliers : € 1,82M including premium over a lower estimate of € 200K for a chandelier in iron and plaster 45 cm in diameter made before 1951 with the collaboration of Diego, and € 720K including premium over a lower estimate of € 25K on a bronze chandelier of the same diameter.
SOLD for £ 1.7M before fees
A ceiling light by #AlbertoGiacometti spotlights his friendship with a powerhouse of early 20th century culture: https://t.co/zo2Yw05T8y pic.twitter.com/hJQ6n0WyrO
— P H I L L I P S (@phillipsauction) April 25, 2017