The estate of Bruno Giacometti, the youngest of the four Giacometti brothers, of which sculptor Alberto was the eldest, will be offered in the Swiss Art Sale on Sept. 24 in the Kunsthaus Zurich. Bruno Giacometti, an architect whose best-known work was the Swiss pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 1952, died in March at the age of 104. And while there will be plenty of personal effects and design works for sale, what you won’t see auctioned off are paintings, preparatory drawings and works of art by Alberto and Diego and any artist friends.
The estate was split in two, with the artworks by Alberto and Diego donated to the Kunsthaus Zurich. Bruno’s private belongings will be offered at auction. These reflect Bruno’s personal taste and design aesthetic as well as the general artistic predilections of the entire family—such as several pieces of furniture designed by his brother Diego, wooden chairs carved by his father Alberto, and design works by his artist friends, like a mirror by Serge Brignoni that has a frame devised of sardine cans. The highlight of the sale will be Giovanni Giacometti’s artist stool that he used in his studio in Stampa where the family resided.
No small boon for those wanting to collect some of the Giacometti “aura,” this auction will include a suitcase that Alberto had with him when he died in a hospital in Chur, Switzerland. That, along with the nametags and numerous labels that reflect his decades of traveling will all be offered.
The proceeds of the auction will go to benefit the Dr. Beat Richner Foundation of Kantha Bopha Children’s hospitals in Cambodia.
