On November 3 at Sotheby's in Paris, the second part of the sale of Dorothée Lalanne, daughter of the famous artistic couple Les Lalanne, who died in 2008 and 2019, took place with great success. Sotheby's sold 100% of the lots in the second part, realizing a total of 48 million euros, more than double the initial estimate. This comes after after the success of the first part of the sale in November 2021, which totaled 80 million euros (a record for an auction in France in 2021).
Related: Another White-Glove Auction for Les Lalanne?
The two results combined mean that the Dorothée Lalanne collection has brought in more than 129 million euros in total, the highest amount for a collection sold in France since the sale of Pierre Bergé and Yves Saint Laurent, which had brought in 373.5 million euros in 2009 at Christie's in Paris, and the more recent sale of the Hubert de Givenchy collection, sold last June at Christie's for just over 118 million euros.
The auction results
Most lots exceeded their estimate, attracting 8 to 10 bidders for each piece. The best results went to the works by François-Xavier Lalanne, with the Âne Planté (2002) in first position, sold for €3.2 million, followed by the Grand Mouflon de Pauline (2008), which went for about €3 million, and then Table aux Mouettes (1994), sold for €1.9 million.
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The works by Claude Lalanne also held up well, more than doubling and even tripling their high estimate. In first place we find the bench S’asseoir en Forêt (2017), sold for €1.4 million, then the Grands Sphinx (2000), sold for just over €1 million, and finally La Banquette Ginkgo (2007), which reached €942,500, more than three times its high estimate. Other spectacular bids were won, for example by Rhinocéros by François-Xavier Lalanne, 1981, estimated at €40,000 and sold for €390,600, or the pedestal table Trifolia IV Ginkgo by Claude Lalanne, estimated at €60,000 and sold for €403,200.
The Lalanne market
Though the sale raised the Lalanne's inventory to stratospheric prices, no auction record was achieved compared to the first part of 2021. The first sale saw indeed record prices for two animals by François Xavier Lalanne: Minotaure (2004), which came with the highest estimate in the whole catalogue of €1 .5 million and sold for €7.9 million, and Léopard (2005), sold for €8.3 million. For Claude Lalanne, a unique chandelier sold for €3.7 million on 14 September 2021 at Christie's in Paris, during the sale of a Parisian pied-à-terre decorated by Hubert de Givenchy.
Related: Six Facts to Know: Les Lalanne
The designs of Les Lalanne are celebrated by the greatest interior designers (among whom are Jacques Grange, François Catroux, and Peter Marino) and creatives (such as Yves Saint-Laurent and Christian Dior), and reside in the most beautiful addresses, such as at the Elysée Palace, many museums (including France's Museum of Art Deco in 2010 and 2022), and in the most prestigious collections (of Saint Laurent-Bergé, Michelle Smith, Hubert de Givenchy, for example). In light of this, it does not come as a surprise that collectors around the world are snapping them up.
