The first session of the marathon auction of the Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé Collection staged by Christie’s (in association with Pierre Bergé & Associes) at the sumptuous Grand Palais lived up to its pre-sale billing as “the sale of the century,” racking up a stunning €206,154,600 ($266,743,437), a result that far eclipsed the daunting pre-sale estimate of €128.9–181 million.

The result shattered the record for a single-owner, single-session sale, set at Christie’s New York in November 1997, when the Victor and Sally Ganz Collection of modern and contemporary art earned $206.5 million.

Fifty-nine of the 61 lots in tonight’s sale of Impressionist and modern artworks sold, for a svelte buy-in rate of 3 percent by lot. The buy-in rate by value was not far behind, at 10 percent.

Six lots earned in excess of €10 million, and 18 went for more than €1 million.

Seven artist records were set, including for the top lot, the beautiful and überdecorative Henri Matisse still life Les coucous, tapis bleu et rose (1911), which sold to New York art adviser Franck Giraud for a roaring €35,905,000 (est. €12–18 million). The result smashed the artist’s record, set at the height of the recent (and yet oh so distant) art boom, at Christie’s New York in November 2007, when L’Odalisque, harmonie bleue from 1937 sold for $33,641,000.

Giraud and his partner Philippe Segalot, of the New York dealership Giraud Pisarro Segalot, were not done. The pair did serious damage during the marathon evening, outgunning intense competition for the ultrarare Marcel Duchamp readymade in collaboration with Man Ray, Belle haleine — Eau de violette from 1911, which hit €8,913,000 (est. €1–1.5 million). The work is a brushed glass perfume bottle whose label features an image of Duchamp in drag, with a feathered hat, strand of pearls, and lots of makeup.

New York art adviser Andrew Ruth, seated in the immense sky-lit room next to his client, was the lot’s stubborn underbidder.

The result obliterated the Duchamp readymade record by a mile. The previous record was set by the replica Bicycle Wheel from 1913/1964 that sold at Phillips de Pury & Luxembourg for $1,762,500 way back in 2002.

Other record-setters included Constantin Brancusis tribal-like and decidedly figurative, rough-hewn carved oak sculpture Madame L.R. ( Portrait de Mme L.R.) from circa 1914–17, which went to a telephone bidder for €29,185,000 (est. €15-20 million). The work has a stunning provenance including not just Saint Laurent and Bergé, but also Fernard Léger, its original owner.

New York/London private dealer Daniella Luxembourg was the underbidder.

The sale price vanquished Brancusi’s previous mark of $29.5 million, set at Christie’s New York in May 2005 for Bird in Space from circa 1922–23.

Boost of Confidence for Jittery Market
Tonight’s result will be huge boost for a nervous art market. Not only did a half dozen or so of the top-tier lots climb to dizzying heights, but several less important works hit their estimates with reassuring marks.

“This is what we were hoping for, that it would not be totally crazy but really sound and measured with lots of activity for great things,” said Giovanna Bertazzoni, head of Impressionist and modern art at Christie’s London. “[The sale] marks the return of collectors, as opposed to people who don’t really know why it’s a great piece in the corpus of the artist’s legacy.”

Indeed, the house went into the sale with high hopes that a gonzo result would pry loose other top-tier works from potential sellers for the May sale in New York, despite the gloomy economic climate. It must be very pleased with the outcome.

All That Jazz
Three major Piet Mondrian paintings were on offer, and two went crazy, including the jazzy Composition avec bleue, rouge, jaune et noir from 1922, for which Saint Laurent designed a spectacular dress as a homage in the early 1970s. The canvas fetched a record €21,569,000.

But that work paled in quality and connoisseurship to the strikingly minimal Composition avec grille 2, from 1918/42, which sold to Segalot for double its low estimate at €14,401,000 (est. €7–10 million).

Buttonholed as he dashed out of the frigid salesroom, Segalot responded, “What can I say? I bought it for a very lucky collector.”

Another record-setter was Giorgio de Chiricos early and rare Il Ritornante from 1918, featuring a portrait of the artist’s father. The work sold for €11,041,000 (est. €7–10 million), but that result was pre-empted, due to French cultural law, by the Centre Pompidou, which will become its new owner.

In a night of stunning success, the one whopper buy-in was not much of a surprise, as the overestimated and underwhelming late Pablo Picasso Cubist work, Insturments de musique sur un gueridon (1914–15), expired without a bid at a chandelier bid €21 million (est. €25–30 million).

Asked about the buy-in after the auction, Bergé wryly noted, “I’m very happy the Picasso didn’t sell, because I can keep it.” Moments later, he said that he would donate it to the foundation named after himself and Saint Laurent.

Proceeds to Benefit Foundations, Bergé
In fact, a yet-to-be-determined but majority percentage of the proceeds will benefit the Fondation Pierre Bergé Yves Saint Laurent, which conserves the Saint Laurent legacy of haute couture, as well as a still-to-be-named new foundation dedicated to scientific research and the fight against AIDS. The other beneficiary will be Bergé, Saint Laurent’s partner of more than four decades and a powerful figure in the French cultural and business worlds who owns his own auction house, Pierre Bergé & Associes.

All together, some 700 works from the couple's collection will be offered in six sessions bearing a total pre-sale estimate of €200–300 million. After tonight’s result, there is no telling where the overall tally will go.

A controversy was resolved late Monday evening concerning two of the most highly valued lots, fantastic Qing Dynasty bronzes of a head of a rat and a rabbit, which are slated to be on offer Wednesday afternoon. The pieces, which are estimated in excess of €7 million each, are considered important cultural relics in China, and the Chinese Government went to French court to try to stop the sale. The court decided against China, allowing the sale to proceed as planned.

Asked about the decision in the post-sale press conference, Bergé defiantly offered to donate both the works to China on the condition that “the Chinese government respect human rights, give liberty to the people of Tibet, and accept the coming of the Dali Lama.”

Judd Tully is Editor at Large of Art+Auction.