Surrealism for Sale

April 1, 2003 3:04 PM

An auction of books, paintings, and sculpture from the estate of seminal surrealist Andre Breton began today at the Hôtel Drouot in Paris. Some estimates place the value of the collection at over US$30 million. At lot of art lovers from all over the world don't think this is a very good idea.
posted by MrBaliHai (4 comments total)

Anyone who has ever visited a writer's home which has been left much as it was when they died, knows how interesting it is.

André Breton's home is definitely patrimoine. I am shocked. What's up with the French lately?
posted by MiguelCardoso at 4:05 PM on April 1, 2003

Would Breton have wanted to be enshrined though? I doubt it.
posted by Pinwheel at 7:48 AM on April 2, 2003

Pinwheel: I think the issue has more to do with whether this wealth of art should go into the hands of private collectors and largely disappear from public view, than it does with attempting to build a shrine to Breton.

Take a look at the catalogue links. The sheer amount of art being dumped into the private market is astonishing. I was totally unfamiliar with about 90% of the paintings and sculptures being auctioned off. I'd like to have a chance to see it in a museum someday.
posted by MrBaliHai at 8:13 AM on April 2, 2003

Fact is, much of the stuff you see in museums belonged to a private collection at some point or still does... in the case of exhibits, that tends to be most of the artwork.
posted by clevershark at 1:31 PM on April 2, 2003