A never seen before double-sided sketch by a world famous artist has sold for almost double its estimated value at an international art auction.
Alberto Giacometti’s pencil sketches of a nude woman and various heads fetched £130,000 when they went under the hammer last week.
They are titled “Têtes (recto); Nu debout (verso)” and are signed off with “Alberto Giacometti 1947”, by the Swiss artist who died at 60 years of age in 1966.
Sarah Flynn, Head of the Paintings Department at Cheffins, who held the auction, said: “The price achieved today represents the rise in the popularity of Giacometti in recent years.
“Giacometti is one of the most revered and sought-after artists of the 20th century and we have seen interest from across the globe from museums and galleries as well as private collectors.
“The drawing encapsulates two of the three most important and reoccurring themes that dominated his work: the standing female figure, the bust and the walking man.
“Giacometti explored these motifs in endless variations and groupings across all mediums – including sculpture, painting and drawing.
The drawings, which are in Giacometti’s signature style were discovered amongst the collection of late antiques dealer, Eila Grahame, in London.
Sarah said: “Eila Grahame was a true icon in the antique collecting world and we knew that anything from her collection would be highly desirable, including this important previously unrecorded work.”
The auction, which was held at Clifton House in Cambridge, was called The Residue of Vision – Art & Design from 1860 and featured numerous internationally