Three Nanas at the fountain

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

Have you noticed that? Nanas of Niki de Saint Phalle dislike indoors and museums. We see them in gardens and pools, and they are often photographed in such outdoor environments for the auction catalogs.

They come in all sizes, attitudes, colors. The most popular are those who dance with a lightness that defies the enormity of their bodies. It was in the garden of Nahon in Vence that the Nanas have really taken off in terms of auction, by Sotheby's on 18 July 2004. A Pink Dancer of 1968 in polyester 2.70 meters high was sold that day 410 K € fees included. At the same sale, a Nana of 1989, symbolizing the world with her arm raised and her proud position perched on a globe and on a machine of Tinguely, was sold 430 K € fees included.

Having visited the site of Sotheby's to find this information, it is impossible for me to keep the discovery of an athlete Nana with square shoulders and tiny head in a stabile position (as would have said Calder), which reached $ 1.1 million including expenses at Sotheby's New York in 2006.

In roughly the same size as the works above, Niki de Saint Phalle created in 1999 a set of Three Graces to decorate a pool fountain. It was done in three examples with ceramic and Murano glass on polyester.

One of these sets is coming on December 5 at lots 425 to 427 at Lempertz in Cologne. The particularly dynamic dancing attitude should attract fans. The lots will first be offered separately, then as a set. In bidding language, this means that after the three provisional auctions, the set is presented again as a whole, and if someone bids more than the sum of provisional auctions he takes it all ... in this case, with the help of an experienced mover. Each one is estimated 250 K €.

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

Separating these three Nanas should have been a shame. They were sold together, 750 K € before fees. This price corresponds exactly to the total of the estimates.

This is a very good result.