Alain Delon in front of one of the pieces of his art collection that was auctioned in 2007.
Valued at €4-to-5 million and including works by Delacroix, Raoul Dufy and Veronese, the reputed art collection of iconic French actor Alain Delon will be sold at auction in June.
The 87-year-old actor had already sold a large part of his impressive art collection in 2007 when he said that he hates the idea of posthumous sales, setting the stage for the upcoming auction of more than 80 artworks.
In 2016, he also sold some of his collections of wine, watches and weapons.
The auction after international tour
The current collection, accrued over 60 years, also includes sculptures and drawings from the Italian renaissance and will be sold by auctioneers Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr in Paris on June 22.
But before then, the artworks go on tour with exhibitions scheduled in New York, Hong Kong, Geneva, London and Paris.
Alain Delon with his art collection before a first auction in 2007.
Delon, a living legend of French cinema, was one of Europe’s most prominent actors and screen sex symbols in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. He starred in more than 90 films including classics such as Purple Noon , La Piscine, The Leopard, and The Samurai, and worked with famous directors Luchino Visconti, Jean-Luc Godard, Jean-Pierre Melville, Michelangelo Antonioni, and Louis Malle, among others.
He was awarded France’s Legion of Honour in 1991.
“I bought my first drawing in 1964 precisely, in London. Over the years, I acquired more drawings, portraits and sculptures that moved me, spoke to me, and even occasionally consoled me,” the actor said in the catalogue for the auction.”These works have accompanied me through many years and have been part of my life.”
Then-youthful French actor Alain Delon
Among the most remarkable pieces are an oil on canvas by Raoul Dufi, ‘La Plage de Sainte Adresse’, 1906, estimated between €600,000 and €800,000 and an 1825 painting by Eugene Delacroix, ‘Horse Arab tied to a stake,’ estimated between €400,000 and €600,000.
“Some people buy cars, some people go to whores—I prefer portraits,” the actor said when he sold the first part of his collection. “I bought for passion, never for investment.”
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/ceciliarodriguez/2023/04/05/french-celebrity-alain-delon-to-auction-his-private-art-collection/