Paris
The hugely successful sale of the Jacqueline Delubac collection at a packed Drouot Montaigne raised a total of FFr30 million (£3 million; $5.1 million), three times the estimated sum. Mlle Delubac, who died in March, had been the frothy star of Guitry comedies of the 1930s and 1940s before becoming the mistress of wealthy lovers and later the wife of a multi-millionaire. A flamboyant fashion figure she was also a serious collector of Modern art. Her Van Dongen “Le lit de la bonne”, painted in 1908, fetched FFr7,500,000, double the reserve; “Fathma” by Georges Rouault, estimated at FFr500,000, sold for FFr2.5 million and Vieira da Silva’s “La ville fermée” (1965) for FFr780,000. The best pieces of furniture also exceeded their estimated prices. In fact a good time seemed to be had by all—the lady seated near the front who lamented the sartorial deficiencies of participants in the sale, comparing their mode of dress unfavourably with that of the elegant, late Jacqueline Delubac.
Originally appeared in The Art Newspaper as ‘Last curtain call for haute couture collector'