February 23-25, 2009
Sale of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé’s Collection
Related to Yves Saint Laurent, Pierre Bergé
On February 23-25, 2009, Pierre Bergé auctioned off the collection he and his late companion Yves Saint Laurent had assembled over the course of forty years. The 733 masterpieces they owned were exhibited at the Grand Palais, where over thirty thousand visitors were able to view them during three days. This “sale of the century” reflected the impressive quality and variety of their collection, which included antique and contemporary paintings, orfevrerie, and examples of the decorative arts. The entire private collection sold for a record-breaking total of 375.3 million euros.
Pierre Bergé donated Francico de Goya’s Portrait de Luis María de Cistué y Martínez to the Musée du Louvre and a rare tapestry by Edward Burne-Jones, Adoration of the Magi, to the Musée d’Orsay. He also helped the Centre Pompidou acquire Giorgio De Chirico’s Il Ritornante.
The Senufo bird—the first piece Saint Laurent and Bergé bought together—was not included in the sale.
