Paris, March 2017 – Sotheby’s and Piasa will offer at auction the private collection of Gine,e and Alain Lesieutre on 29 June 2017 at Sotheby’s Paris.
Alain Lesieutre belonged to the generation who pioneered Art Nouveau and Art Deco: periods that had only interested a few aesthetes un*l then. He was one of the influential visionary figures of the art market who wrote the history of these collecting categories in the 1970s. They also contributed to the rediscovery of many ar*sts with their wri*ngs, which included Alain Lesieutre's book The Spirit and Splendour of Art Deco, published in 1974.
A self-taught gi?ed with an exceptional taste who became a dealer in the 1960s, Alain Lesieutre set several world records with the pieces he selected. Some have since been established as historical works, like the lacquer and eggshell "Portrait of Madame Agnès" commissioned from Jean Dunand by the famous hat designer in 1926, and the "Maharajah" chaise longue 'on skis’ designed by Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann in 1929.
