PIASA is organizing a Modern and Contemporary Art auction on Thursday April 8th. This sale will bring together a number of works by Arman that reflect the diversity of his production and the richness of his creativity.
In the middle of 1966, Arman was not yet in his fifties and lived regularly in New York. Having acquired American nationality in 1972, and married to Corice Canton, he showed his support for the Black Panther Party, a movement for the civil rights of African-Americans. When he was offered the Legion of Honor, despite the custom that "the Legion of Honor is not to be asked for, nor refused", Arman did not want to be decorated and consequently drowned his medal in resin. This gesture is all the more provocative as the Legion of Honor is the highest French distinction.
In 1984, he created the work À la République / Hommage à la Révolution de 1789 for the Presidential Palace. Since its creation, this accumulation of 200 white marble and bronze flags has been installed in the vestibule of the Elysée Palace where, according to the rules of protocol, the President of the Republic welcomes foreign heads of state. In 1989, the year of the bicentenary of the Revolution, President François Mitterrand awarded him the insignia of Knight of the Legion of Honor. In 2001, President Jacques Chirac raised Arman to the rank of Officer of the Legion of Honor.
Arman (Armand Fernandez) (1928-2005)
Légion d'honneur, 1970
Estimate: 10 000 / 15 000 €
