Alberto Giacometti’s Grande Femme II will appear in Christie’s hotly anticipated Paris Avant Garde sale on October 19.
The enormous work stands close to nine feet tall.
Grand Femme II is Giacometti's largest work
It was one of a series of experiments Giacometti made in 1960 for a commission by the architect Gordon Bunshaft, who wanted a 65 foot sculpture for the plaza of New York's Chase Manhattan Bank.
However, Giacometti did not feel able to deliver the project. He created 10 Grande Femmes, as well as 40 male figures.
The present lot is the largest work he ever produced.
Christie’s hasn’t revealed the estimate, but comparable examples of Giacometti’s work have sold for several million.
In fact, the $141m set for his Pointing Man in 2015 remains a world record for a sculpture at auction.
Will the sheer scale of this piece see it set a new world record?
It’s looking very likely. Demand for Giacometti’s work is at fever pitch.
Christie’s director of 20th century art, Pierre Martin-Vivier, said: “Objects like these are very rare — only 10 versions of Grande Femme II were ever produced.
“One is at the Pompidou in Paris, another at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and one is at the Maeght Foundation.
“This is the largest and most balanced of Giacometti’s largest works. With this piece, we’re on the order of the sacred — there’s something almost religious about it.”
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