Alberto Giacometti - L'Homme au doigt. Pointing Man. Man Pointing 1947
L'Homme au doigt. Pointing Man. Man Pointing 1947 180cm Bronze
Sold for: USD 141.3 million
Auction house: Christie's, New York
Sale date: May 2015
Seller: Private collection
Buyer: Anonymous bidder
From Christie's, New York:
Alberto Giacometti’s most iconic and evocative sculpture, L’homme au doigt (Pointing Man) is to make its first appearance at auction, as a highlight of Christie’s evening sale in New York on 11 May.
Cast in bronze and standing whippet-thin at five feet ten inches, this dynamic and powerful figure is widely recognised as one of the most important sculptural achievements of the Modern era, created by the greatest master of the medium.
Pointing Man is among the great masterpieces in the collections of New York’s Museum of Modern Art and London’s Tate Gallery. Giacometti conceived the work in 1947 and made just six casts of it plus one artist’s proof.
Today, four are in major museums; the remaining are in foundation collections and private hands. The extreme rarity of the work is underscored by the fact that the cast to be offered at Christie’s is believed to be the only bronze version of Pointing Man that Giacometti painted by hand in order to heighten its expressive impact, making this a singular opportunity for the world’s top collectors to view and compete for this exceptional work.