GERMAN ACCENT: A Karl Lagerfeld drawing depicting former German Chancellor Angela Merkel was the top lot at a Sotheby’s auction of his personal cache of sketches, fetching 23,040 euros, more than 57 times its high estimate of 400.
Meanwhile, a portfolio containing nearly 100 working documents sold for 14,080 euros, about 10 times its high estimate.
Sotheby’s said the sale, which ran from July 2 to 8, brought in 731,008 euros, with 100 percent of lots selling and achieving three times the overall sale’s high estimate.
A Karl Lagerfeld sketch of Angela Merkel.
DAmiEn PERRONNET
Memorabilia items included the late German designer’s collection of iPods and a set of six Swedish cast iron benches from the ’20s, which went for 19,200 euros, the number-two lot in the sale in terms of value.
“More than seven years after his passing, collector interest in Karl Lagerfeld’s unique universe remains undiminished, helping to perpetuate the legend,” said Pierre Mothes, vice president and director of business development at Sotheby’s France, which previously held five other auctions of furnishings, artworks and personal effects to benefit his estate.
Mothes added that “collecting works by Karl — or objects that once belonged to him — is also a fitting tribute to a man who was himself a great collector: insatiable, curious, and at times obsessive.”
More than 1,000 “previously unseen” drawings were the centerpiece of the latest sale, along with gadgets and a few pairs of his fingerless gloves in metallic leather.
According to Mothes, the drawings hold artistic, historical, sentimental and collectible value.
A Karl Lagerfeld sketch believed to depict Elizabeth von Arnim sold for 12,160 euros.
Eléa Lefèvre
