Yves Saint Laurent Pierre Bergé - Christie's

a legendary
collection
There is no doubt that Christie’s sale of the Yves
Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé collection will be a
milestone in the history of great auctions. It is also
the reflection of a whole era and its lifestyle. A
lifestyle shaped by the creative intuition and talent
of a few personalities such as Yves Saint Laurent
and Pierre Bergé.
When Christian Dior died in 1957, one could read
in the newspapers the name of the great
couturier’s successor: ‘Yves Saint Laurent, 21’.
From that day, and for almost half a century,
encouraged and faithfully supported by Pierre
Bergé, the brilliant designer’s three initials, YSL,
became the symbol of French elegance throughout
the world. Supremely chic, sober and
revolutionary, giving women a new freedom, his
style has not yet been surpassed. In 1983, at the
height of his career, the designer became part of
the art world when Diana Vreeland, the queen of
fashion, organised a retrospective of his work at
the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Pierre Bergé, who created the fashion house with
Yves Saint Laurent and accompanied him
throughout all his life, is much more than just the
well known tycoon. A refined literary figure (he
was a friend of Jean Giono and Jean Cocteau), a
renowned expert in music, he also discovered the
talent of Bernard Buffet at the very start of his
career. He was, and still is, one of the great
patrons of our time; an active donor to major
By François de Ricqlès
humanitarian causes. The Centre Pompidou, the
Louvre, the National Gallery in London and many
other important institutions owe M. Bergé a great
deal, as do Covent Garden and the Paris Opera, of
which he is President.
Highly sought-after and acquainted with all those
who set the ‘tone’ of the social, political and
cultural life of Paris, Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre
Bergé guarded their incredible collection of works
of art, as if it were their secret garden. The
dazzling nature of their collection is shaped by a
single principle: each piece was purchased for the
simple satisfaction of the two collectors looking for
exceptional pieces.
Indifferent to trends, their main reference was the
large mansion in Paris of Vicomte and Vicomtesse
de Noailles, where they were frequent guests in
their youth.
This rich, aristocratic and eccentric couple had
inherited masterpieces and major pieces of furniture
from their ancestors, which they combined with
works bought from their artist friends, Picasso,
Giacometti, Balthus, Tanguy, Dalí and many others.
In a stunning room covered in vellum by Jean-
Michel Frank, antique pieces and modern art were
audaciously and gracefully mixed. Yves Saint Laurent
and Pierre Bergé would never forget this lesson: the
search for perfection, an insatiable curiosity and
freedom of taste. It suited them perfectly.
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