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The extraordinary and much-envied art collection amassed by André Breton during his time at 42 rue Fontaine is coming up for auction. The collection will be broken up during the longest auction ever held (1-18 April), at Hôtel Drouot. This eagerly awaited and controversial sale is already marked in diaries round the world as a must-see by all collectors interested in fresh and historic works.
Maîtres Laurence Calmels and Cyrille Cohen have decided to sell off André Breton’s treasures through 22 separate auctions. The 4,100 lots are listed in an 8-volume catalogue featuring 3500 books, 800 manuscripts, 500 photography lots, 400 paintings and drawings, 150 American Indian and Oceanic objets d’art — surely enough to satisfy the most demanding investor.
An eclectic range of fine art. Investors will find many drawings estimated at less than EUR1,000 alongside paintings by Yves TANGUY , Simon HANTAÏ , Joan MIRO , René MAGRITTE , Francis PICABIA and Max ERNST , works dating from the XVII century, exquisite "cadavres exquis" and collages.
Among the masterpieces on sale is Femme, a wood relief sculpture made by Hans Arp in 1927. Sculpture prices have risen by 56% in 6 years and Femme should reach its estimate of EUR600,000-800,000. Any higher will mark a new record for the artist.
There is also Le Piège (1924) an oil painting by Joan Miró expected to fetch EUR3-5m.
René Magritte’s painting, La Femme Caché is estimated at over EUR500,000. Magritte was massively in vogue in 2002 (see ArtMarketInsight, 11 February 2003), but this painting was badly damaged in an unfortunate “cleaning” incident and the high buy-in ratio at Christie’s and Sotheby’s London (3 and 4 February 2003) suggest results here may be a bit of a lottery.
Lovers of surrealist photography cannot afford to miss this unique event. There are many exceptional prints by MAN RAY (74 lots), Louis J. CARTIER-BRESSON , BRASSAÏ , Hans BELLMER , Raoul UBAC , Manuel ALVAREZ BRAVO and Claude CAHUN . Obviously, the authenticity of all is beyond question. The photography lots go under the hammer on 15-17 April. Investors will generally have to spend over EUR10,000 for one of these prints, but there are many unsigned prints or prints by less famous photographers which may appeal to the eye or the sense of history and are estimated at less than EUR1,000. Several photography collections by various artists are in the catalogue at very low prices, including lots 5459, 5474, 5476, 5484, 5486, 5490, 5491, 5494, 5495 and 5497 for less than EUR100.
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Collectors of surrealist work are one of the most selective groups in the market. In 2002, 74% of surrealist works (in all disciplines) failed to find a buyer. Surrealism has one of the highest no-sales ratios in the market. Investors are willing to wait for high quality works and these are becoming ever scarcer.
But even the most choosy buyers have reason to be excited by the Breton sale. None of the works have been auctioned on the market. Experts have worked relentlessly for months to guarantee authenticity. Many dealers have been hoarding their buying power for a symbol straight from the hands of surrealism’s leading light. And despite the higher no-sales ratio, the price index of surrealist works has risen continuously since 1997: a 77% rise in 6 years — see ArtMarketInsight, 23 January 2003. Also, no reserve prices have been set, suggesting bidding will be fast and competitive. The star lots are unlikely to go without a bitter struggle.
Surrealism: annual rate of bought in lots
 © Artprice
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