Work of the Week is excerpted from The Back Room, our lively recap funneling only the week’s must-know art industry intel into a nimble read you’ll actually enjoy. Artnet News Pro members get exclusive access—subscribe now to receive this in your inbox every Friday.
At Sotheby’s single-owner sale of entrepreneur Sydell Miller’s collection on November 18, François-Xavier Lalanne’s Troupeau d’Éléphants dans les Arbres (2001) inspired a 10-minute bidding war, hammering at $10 million—more than double its $4 million-$6 million estimate. It sold for a total of $11.6 million, including fees, to a phone bidder represented by Jodi Pollack, chairman and co-worldwide head of 20th century design.
Featuring seven free-standing elephants under gold-patinated bronze tree branches that form the base of the glass table, the work was acquired directly from Lalanne by the American architect Peter Marino before Miller picked it up. This particular work was the second from an edition of eight, but only four other examples of this work are known. Another of the editions sold for $6.6 million in a 2021 Christie’s sale; it also belonged to Miller, who commissioned the work for her Palm Beach home.
Miller, who died earlier this year, was a known elephant fan. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of her collection will benefit the Sydell L. Miller Elephant Care and Visitor Center at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.
While Lalanne has always had a dedicated collector following, the legendary French designer and installation artist’s market has been growing despite global market downturn. Earlier this year, Lalanne was the star of Ben Brown’s elaborate exhibition, “Planète Lalanne,” which focused on the artist and his wife Claude’s extensive career as a creative duo. Staged in Venice’s historic Palazzo Rota, coinciding with the 60th Venice Biennale, it featured more than 150 works and attracted more than 6,000 visitors.
Additionally, the total sales value of Lalanne’s works at auction this year has reached more than $100 million, according to Artnet’s Price Database, slightly up from 2023’s total. Just last month, Christie’s staged the first-ever dedicated François-Xavier Lalanne auction in New York. The white-glove sale totaled $58.9 million, with 97 percent of the 70 lots selling above their high estimates.
Troupeau d’Éléphants marks the second-highest auction price for Lalanne. The artist’s record stands at €18.3 million ($19.4 million) for the 1964 Rhinocrétaire I, Pièce Unique, his first major sculpture that was sold at Christie’s Paris in October 2023.
