Alberto Giacometti
1901-1966 · Swiss · Surrealism, Post-war figuration
Auction record: $141.29M
L'homme au doigt, 1947 · Christie's, New York · May 11, 2015
Source: bloomberg.com
Biography
Alberto Giacometti was a Swiss sculptor and painter who worked in Paris from the 1920s. After a Surrealist phase he developed, from the late 1940s, the elongated, eroded standing and walking figures that became emblems of post-war existentialism, alongside intense portraits of his brother Diego and wife Annette. His bronzes were cast in limited editions, so several casts of a model can appear on the market. Giacometti holds the auction record for any sculpture: L'homme au doigt (1947) sold for 141.3 million dollars at Christie's New York in May 2015. Demand is concentrated on major lifetime casts; in May 2025 a Grande tête mince estimated at over 70 million dollars failed to sell at Sotheby's, a sign of selectivity at the top.
Market
- Liquidity: High
Museums
- Fondation Giacometti, Parigi
- Kunsthaus Zürich (Alberto Giacometti-Stiftung)
- Museum of Modern Art, New York
- Tate Modern, Londra
- Fondation Maeght, Saint-Paul-de-Vence
Sources
- Bloomberg, Giacometti sculpture sells for 141.3 million
- Artnet News, 70 million Giacometti flops at Sotheby's
- Artlyst, Giacometti bust fails to sell
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