Letter From Paris: The Church of Saint Laurent

If the first sale of the Yves Saint-Laurent and Pierre Bergé collections roared into Paris like the symbolic lion that Saint-Laurent loved, the second began with the squeak of a mouse.
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If the first sale of the collection of Yves Saint-Laurent and Pierre Bergé roared into Paris like the symbolic lion that Saint-Laurent loved, the second began with the squeak of a mouse at the Theatre Marigny yesterday. Without the stellar collection of Art Deco furniture and paintings--including Matisses and Picassos--that bidders fought over the last time around, this sale has not generated anything near the heat of the first auction. The first sale, held at the Grand Palais in February, blew the lid off the art market in Paris as well as around the globe with a total of €373.9 million or $483.8 million, which according to Christie's was "a world record for the most valuable private collection sold at auction."

As opposed to the people who waited in the rain for hours to view the beloved YSL's collection, there were no lines or waiting and the press gallery was also sparsely attended. Saint-Laurent's business and life partner, Pierre Bergé, joined the good-looking younger man (Who is he?) seen all around Paris with YSL's beloved dog, Moujik, and others in his firm who were collaborating on the sale with Christie's.

Though some of the photos are blurry, you can see Moujik lying at the feet of his handler. And you will see Pierre Bergé watching the sale and leaving it afterward.

Yves Saint-Laurent was a beloved figure in France--an icon of style. Thousands paid homage at his funeral and came to see his incredible collection. Even if the master designer is gone, the church of YSL still stands, and when the sale was over yesterday, I bowed my head and said, Amen.

The Church of Saint Laurent:

Podcast created by Beth Arnold, photos included.

Beth Arnold covered the first YSL sale for "Vogue" at Style.com. She lives and writes in Paris. To see more of her work go to www.betharnold.com.

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