A Whimsical Menagerie of Splendorous Beasts by the Lalannes Is Up for Sale at Sotheby’s—See Works From the Auction Here

In the last decade or so, the fantastical creations of French
designers and longtime couple François-Xavier and Claude Lalanne
have taken the art and design worlds by storm.

It’s not as if their signature pieces—surreal sheep,
cabbage-footed objects, and bronze monkeys and birds—were ever out
of fashion. But their popularity soared to new heights following
projects such as “Sheep Station,” which saw
their lovable lambs gather in a disused gas station in New
York.

Next week, Sotheby’s Paris will offer more than 280 works
directly from their collection (once housed in their home and
studio near Fontainebleau) in a sale that is expected to fetch
between $17.7 million and $24.4 million (€16 million to €20
million).

“It is both an immense privilege and a fantastic opportunity to
have been chosen by the family of Claude and François-Xavier
Lalanne to orchestrate this sale, as each object is imbued with the
story of this mythic couple,” Florent Jeanniard, head of
20th-century design at Sotheby’s Europe, said in a statement.

Among the expected top lots is a unique, patinated, welded
copper-and-metal Rhinoceros desk (1991), with an estimate
of $777,000 to $1.1 million (€700,000 to €1 million). Also on offer
is a ram-shaped bar cabinet, Grand Mouflon de Pauline Bar
Cabinet (2008), with an estimate of $666,000 to $888,000
(€600,000 to €800,000).

“From the monumental to the miniature, each piece piece exudes
the couple’s colorful and unique take on design,” Sotheby’s said in
a statement. Les Lalannes “gave life to a poetic oeuvre, injecting
the familiar and functional with a dreamlike enchantment and
overriding sense of humor and whimsy.”

Over the years, their work was featured on everything from
Serge Gainsbourg album covers to Salvador Dalí’s dining table.

The duo moved to Fontainebleau in 1967, the same year they
married, and lived and worked together for the next five decades.
Claude passed away earlier this year at age 93.

The couple was also in the milieu of artists such as Niki
de Saint Phalle, Jean Tinguely, Max Ernst, William N. Copley,
Jasper Johns, and Elaine Sturtevant. The sale will also include
works by these artists.

See more works by the couple below.

The post A Whimsical Menagerie of Splendorous Beasts by the
Lalannes Is Up for Sale at Sotheby’s—See Works From the Auction
Here appeared first on artnet News.