{"id":5321,"date":"2025-05-03T20:41:50","date_gmt":"2025-05-03T20:41:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2025\/05\/03\/the-top-10-auction-lots-to-watch-at-christies-sothebys-and-phillips\/"},"modified":"2025-05-03T20:41:52","modified_gmt":"2025-05-03T20:41:52","slug":"the-top-10-auction-lots-to-watch-at-christies-sothebys-and-phillips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2025\/05\/03\/the-top-10-auction-lots-to-watch-at-christies-sothebys-and-phillips\/","title":{"rendered":"The Top 10 Auction Lots to Watch at Christie\u2019s, Sotheby\u2019s and Phillips"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-observer-listicle__title h3\" id=\"giacomettis-hand-painted-head\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tGiacometti&#8217;s Hand-Painted Head<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"wp-block-observer-listicle__copy-button copy-to-clipboard\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-tooltip-text=\"Copied to clipboard!\" data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/observer.com\/list\/top-10-artworks-may-2025-auctions-christies-sothebys-phillips\/#giacomettis-hand-painted-head\" aria-label=\"Copy link to 'Giacometti's Hand-Painted Head' to the clipboard\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\" viewbox=\"0 0 20 20\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<path d=\"M12.763 7.4a.79.79 0 0 1 .175.87.807.807 0 0 1-.64.485l-.107.007a.809.809 0 0 1-.571-.233 3.266 3.266 0 0 0-4.423-.138l-.147.139-4.52 4.458-.122.13c-1.108 1.235-1.066 3.199.128 4.378 1.239 1.223 3.332 1.223 4.571 0l2.523-2.49a.815.815 0 0 1 .788-.223.803.803 0 0 1 .58.572.791.791 0 0 1-.226.779l-2.523 2.49c-.867.856-2.013 1.314-3.177 1.37l-.25.006c-1.25 0-2.499-.459-3.428-1.376-1.8-1.776-1.857-4.74-.17-6.592l.17-.177L5.906 7.4a4.897 4.897 0 0 1 6.856 0Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<path d=\"M18.606 1.376c1.804 1.78 1.857 4.753.159 6.604l-.168.171-4.504 4.45A4.867 4.867 0 0 1 10.665 14a4.866 4.866 0 0 1-3.428-1.4.79.79 0 0 1 0-1.127.816.816 0 0 1 1.142 0 3.267 3.267 0 0 0 4.422.137l.148-.138 4.514-4.457c1.239-1.221 1.239-3.289 0-4.511-1.192-1.177-3.178-1.22-4.43-.131l-.14.13-2.524 2.492a.814.814 0 0 1-.466.227l-.107.006-.106-.006a.807.807 0 0 1-.64-.486.79.79 0 0 1 .176-.87l2.532-2.499.16-.148c1.874-1.676 4.884-1.624 6.688.157Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/svg><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<\/button><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-observer-listicle__copy\">This seminal work by <a href=\"https:\/\/observer.com\/person\/alberto-giacometti\/\" title=\"Alberto Giacometti\" class=\"company-link\">Alberto Giacometti<\/a> stands as both a testament to his ability to capture the existential fragility of human existence with profound psychological depth and evidence that his art was grounded in the intimate observation of those closest to him. Elevating a personal, familial portrayal into a universal meditation on the human condition, Giacometti shaped a deeply poignant sculptural reflection on both the physical structure and emotional essence of life itself.<\/p>\n<p>One of the rare Postwar bronzes by Giacometti to come to auction, this intense portrait of his brother and lifelong muse, Diego Giacometti, is expected to sell for more than $70 million. Only six casts of the work exist, and the estimate reflects sustained market strength for comparable examples: one sold for $53 million at Christie\u2019s in 2010; another reached $50 million at Sotheby\u2019s in 2013. This cast also benefits from a distinguished exhibition history and provenance, having been shown at the 1956 Venice Biennale and displayed for nearly two decades at the Fondation Maeght in southern France before its acquisition in 1980 from Galerie Maeght by <a href=\"https:\/\/observer.com\/2023\/07\/mysterious-art-collection-of-late-billionaire-sheldon-solow\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">billionaire art collector Sheldon Solow<\/a>, who died in 2020.<\/p>\n<p>The consignor, the Soloviev Foundation\u2014a nonprofit established by Solow\u2019s son\u2014declined to comment, but the sale proceeds are reportedly intended to support the foundation\u2019s mission. This May, the Soloviev Foundation will be notably present in New York with \u201cBetween Distance and Desire: African Diasporic Perspectives,\u201d an exhibition curated by Tumelo Mosaka that features works from its collection alongside eight contemporary artists. On May 8, it will also unveil <em>Path of Liberty at Freedom Plaza<\/em>, a six-acre public art installation conceived as a prelude to America\u2019s 250th anniversary in celebration of the founding ideals of freedom and diversity.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script>\n\t!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n\t{if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n\t\tn.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n\t\tif(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n\t\tn.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n\t\tt.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n\t\ts.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script',\n\t\t'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n\tfbq('init', '618909876214345');\n\tfbq('track', 'PageView');\n<\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Giacometti&#8217;s Hand-Painted Head This seminal work by Alberto Giacometti stands as both a testament to his ability to capture the existential fragility of human existence with profound psychological depth and evidence that his art was grounded in the intimate observation of those closest to him. Elevating a personal, familial portrayal into a universal meditation on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5322,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-usa-news"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5321"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5321\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5323,"href":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5321\/revisions\/5323"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}