Sotheby’s sale of British socialite and art patron Pauline Karpidas’ collection on Wednesday night ruined its $53 million overestimation, totaling $100 million. Despite the weight that surrealism took on, one of the most obvious collector demand signals of the night came from François Xavier and Claude Lalaney.
The artist-designer couple (also known as Les Lalanne) earned $18.5 million in nine works, more than five times their total estimated $3.5 million. In other words, they are expected to account for more than 6.5% of total night sales, but ultimately contribute nearly 20%.
Results tracking Artnews April analysis found that the prices of Les Lalanne sculptures soared in recent years. In 2024 alone, four of François-Xavier’s top ten auction results were recorded. Experts at the time pointed to the unusually broad collector base of the duo, and their historical connection to surrealism. François-Xavier and Claude Lalanne live near Constantin Brancusi in Paris, and through him meet Man Ray, Max Ernst, and other artists associated with the movement.
In this regard, Karpidas sales are the ideal place for them to work. The deal was packed with 23 surreal works, including 11 by René Magritte. Sotheby’s even called Karpidas’ collection “the greatest collection of surrealism in recent history.”
While no work matches François-Xavier’s $19.4 million record, in Christie Rhino ithey always exceed expectations. The highest result comes from Claude Lalanne Structure Végétale The mirror and wall lights sold for $4.8 million for $615,000, the second highest price in her auction. A set of crocodile stools earned over $1.3 million, well above the overestimation of $340,000.
In addition to nine Lalanne works on Wednesday night’s sale, 53 more appeared on Thursday’s sale, while online auctions only will be closed on Friday.
Day sales work similarly: 23 pieces of jewelry made by Claude totaled $695,900, a collective overestimation of $134,000; Unique Feuilles framework Overvalued at $20,300 and François-Xavier’s Bronze at $90,100 Ganesh It costs $623,700 and $95,000.
Lalanne mania shows little signs of cooling. In October, DI Donna Galleries will host over 50 New York exhibitions with Magritte and Les Lalanne and organize in partnership with Ben Brown Fine Arts in London.
