Christie's will present selections from the celebrated Herbert Lust Collection in a series of auctions beginning with its November sales in New York. Further offerings are planned for New York, London and Paris, with the total expected to exceed $50 million.
A collector shaped by artistic dialogue
Built over decades, Lust's collection reflects a deeply personal engagement with modern and surrealist art. A scholar and longtime friend of artists, Lust assembled works spanning sculpture, painting, prints and photography, often developing exceptional depth around individual creators.
The leading work is Alberto Giacometti's Figure, demie grandeur (no. 2), a bronze conceived and cast in 1949. Standing nearly 47 inches tall, the sculpture carries an estimate of $20 million to $30 million. Lust first encountered Giacometti while studying in Paris, later becoming an important researcher on the artist's graphic work.
Another major highlight is Frank Stella's 1962 Les Indes Galantes, estimated at $7 million to $10 million. Christie's notes that the large-scale work belongs to a group of four related paintings from the same year, while the remaining examples are held by museums.
Modern and surrealist landmarks
The auction programme also includes Yves Tanguy's Qui répondra?, Hans Bellmer's Jointure de boules (La Poupée), Robert Indiana's LOVE Wall and Alexander Calder's Pomegranate Pods. Bellmer's sculpture, estimated at $1.5 million to $2.5 million, is expected to draw particular interest as one of the artist's most significant 1930s constructions still in private hands.
Lust's cultural legacy also extends to major museum gifts. The Tel Aviv Museum of Art received substantial holdings, including around 200 Giacometti works, while the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden added more than 70 photographs from his collection.
The upcoming sales highlight how carefully assembled private collections can continue to connect museums, collectors and new audiences with defining works of 20th-century art. Their global presentation may further strengthen interest in scholarship-driven collecting and the lasting cultural value of artistic patronage.
