The Sculpture That Set Alberto Giacometti's Auction Record

Alberto Giacometti's L'homme Au Doigt (1947) sold for $141.3m at Christie's in New York on May 11, 2015. The bronze sculpture, with patina hand-painted by the artist, had been traded 3 times in the past.

Giacometti made six casts of the sculpture in total, plus one artist’s proof, most of which are in museum collections and foundations, including MoMA and the Tate.

Giacometti created his masterwork, which stands stands five-feet and seven-inches tall, under pressure to meet the deadline of his first solo show after World War 2, which was presented by the Pierre Matisse Gallery in New York in January 1948.

"I did that piece… between midnight and nine the next morning," Giacometti told his biographer. "That is, I’d already done it, but I demolished it and did it all over again because the men from the foundry were coming to take it away." He added that when they arrived, "the plaster was still wet."

The show was a critical success and a version of L'homme Au Doigt was soon on display at MoMA, on temporary loan from a private collector.

The record-breaking edition sold by Christie's was first purchased in 1953 from Pierre Matisse by the industrial chemist Fred Olsen. After revolutionizing the manufacture of gunpowder, Olsen and his wife, Florence, become compulsive and adventurous art collectors. They were also the first owners of a Jackson Pollock masterpiece, Blue Poles (1952).

The sale beat Giacometti's previous auction record by $37.87m, a 36% rise. His previous record was set by Walking Man I (1960), which sold for $103.4m at Sotheby's on February 3, 2010, also setting a record as the most expensive sculpture to be sold at auction. The work had been traded 6 times in the past.

A Brief History of Alberto Giacometti at Auction