Matisse's 1911 oil painting ”Les coucous, tapis bleu et rose” (The Cowslips, Blue and Rose Fabric) set a record for the artist, selling for $41.1 million at Christie's art sale from the estate of Yves Saint Laurent. Records were also set for Marcel Duchamp, Constantin Brancusi, James Ensor, Piet Mondrian and Giorgio de Chirico. The auction's first night brought in $264 million:
“Pierre Bergé, who was Mr. Saint Laurent's business and personalpartner for many years, said in a brief interview that he was veryhappy with the results. ‘But you have to know that I'm very cool aboutthings every day,' he said. He was more emotional later at abrief news conference. ‘The day Yves Saint Laurent died, I decided thiscollection had run its course,' he said. ‘It was something we createdtogether.' Mr. Saint Laurent died last June at 71. Mr. Bergésaid he explored the possibility of creating a museum for Mr. SaintLaurent's fashion and art collections but that the project proved toodifficult. ‘Selling it was the only possible solution,' he said. Theproceeds, separate from the commissions that his own company, PierreBergé & Associés, will presumably share with Christie's, are to goto the foundation he established with Mr. Saint Laurent, to variouscultural projects, to charity and to found a new research center tocombat AIDS.”
A Telegraph report on the auction and a video tour of the couple's home, AFTER THE JUMP…
