YVES SAINT LAURENT - SAINT LAURENT'S ART COLLECTION BREAKS AUCTION RECORDS

SAINT LAURENT'S ART COLLECTION BREAKS AUCTION RECORDS

Late designer YVES SAINT LAURENT's art haul went under the hammer in Paris, France on Monday (23Feb09), breaking records for private collection sales.
Pieces by Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso and Paul Klee raised over $260 million (£179.3 million), and one Matisse, titled The Couscous, Blue Carpet and Rose, sold for $40.6 million (£28 million) - the highest amount ever paid for one of the French artist’s works.
However, a Picasso painting, called Musical Instruments on a Table, failed to sell, despite the fact it was the pre-auction highlight.
More than 1,500 art collectors attended the auction at the Grand Palais.
Revered Paris art critic Beatrice de Rochebouet called the auction "the sale of the century”.
Saint Laurent died last year (08), aged 71.