The auction house, with J.P. Morgan Private Bank, held a dinner at its Beverly Hills gallery previewing its upcoming June sale
Words by ELIZABETH VARNELL
Photography by OWEN KOLASINSKI/BFA.COM
From left: CHARLIE CATOR, SONYA ROTH, OLIVIER DE GIVENCHY and ZOË DE GIVENCHY.
Olivier and Zoë Givenchy joined Sonya Roth, Christie’s managing director, an Alberto Giacometti bronze, a chalk drawing by Pablo Picasso and an oil painting by Joan Miró — among other rigorously curated treasures that traveled to Beverly Hills heralding the upcoming Hubert de Givenchy Collectionneur slate of June auctions — to celebrate the French couturier’s impeccable holdings. Alexandra von Furstenberg, Alex Israel, Aurora James and Benjamin Brewer were also on hand for a Wolfgang Puck-prepared dinner of roasted Dover sole meunière given by the auction house and JP Morgan Private Bank. The June sales, both live and online, are set to include more than 1,100 lots of French and European furniture, sculptures and paintings drawn from two of Givenchy’s residences, his Hôtel d’Orrouer in Paris and the Loire Valley Château du Jonchet shared with his partner and fellow couturier Philippe Venet.
SONYA ROTH and ERIC BUTERBAUGH.
AURORA JAMES and BENJAMIN BREWER.
The sales are slated to take place 70 years after the opening of Givenchy’s Maison de Couture on Rue Alfred-de-Vigny, where the couturier memorably created restrained and elegant designs for Audrey Hepburn who also donned them on-screen in Funny Face, Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Charade. Elizabeth Taylor, Jacqueline Kennedy, Lee Radziwill and Bunny Mellon were also clients and the latter became a friend who so frequently visited Givenchy’s Loire Valley country house that she had a room in the turret. The designer’s tables, created by Diego Giacometti were sold at Christie’s in 2017 (Hubert de Givenchy was president of the auction house for a number of years), and Diego’s door knocker and a sculpture by his brother Alberto made the trip to Beverly Hills for the dinner and pre-sale preview alongside a Francois-Xavier Lalanne bronze, the Miró and Picasso paintings, and a Louis XVI bergêre. The evening-long look at the selection of works offered a glimpse of Givenchy’s interior design ethos, his love of 18th century style fused with modern art, and a strong introduction to a structured and well-defined aesthetic built over a lifetime.
Feature image: The CHRISTIE’S event previewed the upcoming sale of pieces from Hubert de Givenchy’s personal collection.
May 9, 2022
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