Alberto Giacometti

Galerie Maeght, Paris

Meshulam Riklis, California

Private Collection, California (acquired from the above in 1994 and sold: Sotheby's, New York, May 9, 2001, lot 473)

Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

Reinhold Hohl, Alberto Giacometti,New York, 1974, no. 66, illustration of the plaster p. 269, illustration of another example p. 295

Yves Bonnefoy, Alberto Giacometti, Biographie d'une oeuvre, Paris, 1991, no. 542, illustration of the plaster p. 527

Excellent condition. The bronze is structurally sound and displays warm brown patina that is in excellent condition. The artist’s signature and foundry mark are evident on the back of the sculpture near the bottom edge. No scratches, corrosion or abrasions to the patina were observed on the sculpture.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The creation of Buste d'homme (New York II) coincided with Giacometti's trip to New York City in 1965.  Despite failing health, he made the trip oversees to attent a career retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art, and the present sculpture dates from this period before his death in January 1966.  Many of his clay models from these final months of his life would not be cast until after his death, when Giacometti's brother and his wife Annette resumed overseeing the production of the bronze editions.

Valerie Fletcher has described the series of busts executed at this time as follows: " In 1965 Giacometti modeled several busts of Diego and the photographer Elie Lotar. Compulsively revising them from the models and from memory over weeks and months. Giacometti considered them works in progress with no absolute state; each permutation was as important as the others. These busts from the last months of Giacometti's life have particularly intense gazes and gouged surfaces. Natural shapes are distorted: the heads jut forward with little solidity in back; the cheeks are more concave than rounded, the torsos are stylized into abstract shapes (like wings in I or cross in II). These distortions emphasize the noncorporeal, expressive nature of these portraits. Although Giacometti denied any deliberate emotionalism in his art, his rejection of descriptive normalcy in these busts creates a sense of yearning and subdued anguish (Alberto Giacometti 1901-1966 (exhibition catalogue), Hirshhorn Museum, Washington D.C., 1988, p.234).

According to the Fondation Giacometti, this bronze belongs to an edition of ten, numbered 0/8 through 8/8, and one marked with the inscription Fondation A.A. Giacometti.  The edition commenced in 1968, and the present cast was created in 1972.