The valuable world of Alberto Giacometti

Giacometti ranks among the top 12 best-selling artists by value and his market reached a turnover of over $64 million in 2023 alone.

Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966) was a Swiss sculptor, painter, and draughtsman, renowned for his significant contribution to modern art. Born in Borgonovo, Switzerland, he hailed from an artistic family; his father, Giovanni Giacometti, was a well-known post-impressionist painter. This environment deeply influenced Alberto's early artistic development. Giacometti moved to Paris in the 1920s, where he became involved with the Surrealist movement, a connection that would influence his early sculptures. However, by the mid-1930s, he broke away from Surrealism, moving towards a more existential approach in his work. His most famous sculptures, characterised by extremely slender, elongated figures, emerged after World War II. 

Giacometti's works are housed in some of the most prestigious museums globally, indicating their high cultural and monetary value. Key institutions include:

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York

The Tate Gallery, London

The Centre Pompidou, Paris

Pencil on paper

Giacometti’s principal work and fame evolve around his sculptures, yet it is his drawings and often preliminary sketches that allow us to perceive the creative process of his mind. Most of these works form part of renowned museum collections of 20th century art while privately held drawings are increasingly rare: only around 24 pieces come to the market per year. While the market volume for Giacometti’s works on paper remains steady, the market value increased by over 40% in the last decade as prices rise consistently. 

Giacometti had established himself as a principal figure of the 20th century art scene and enjoyed academic appreciation as well as a growing interest in his work from collectors. Peggy Guggenheim, one of the most important art patrons of the century, endorsed his work and Giacometti’s artistic output from these years, especially his works on paper, are among the best-selling periods today. His 1950’s portraits drawn on paper fetch prices of up to $570’000 and have an over 70% better sell-through rate than other motifs.

We were able to secure a work that is below the market average. Our price is about 100k, while the average market price is 280k.

ALBERTO GIACOMETTI, Swiss (1901-1966) Portrait of Soshana 1958 Pencil on paper, 20 x 13 in. (50.8 x 33 cm.)  Signed and dated lower right ‘Alberto Giacometti 1958’

Our first Giacometti work will be released for investment tomorrow at 9:00  CET.  We also see this release as a celebration of Swiss talent. 

Our work was part of an estate sale held by Sotheby’s London on the 25th June in 1986, lot 460. Then again, part of an estate sale held by Christie’s New York on May 2nd 2012, lot 234.

The 1958 drawing by Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti portrays his dear friend and fellow artist Soshana Afroyim, with whom Giacometti shared a deep friendship until his death. The sitter appears seated with her hands crossed in her lap and looks directly at the beholder. Giacometti rendered in pencil the soft features of Soshana with her pinned-up hair, repeating the contours typical in Giacometti’s work. Yet, his depiction of Soshana deprives the vigorous intensity with which Giacometti drew many male figures, and here, instead, he turned to soft and gracious lines to echo the gentleness that his friend evoked. In his usual way, Giacometti focused on the sitter’s face, which marks the center of the composition, and gradually reduced details moving outward. Soshana’s silhouette is only partially lined out, yet the present lines suffice to understand her position, exemplary of Giacometti’s mastery.  

This artwork holds an earning potential of 9.4% per annum over the next 2 years.

Auction Records: Top 4 Sales

Giacometti's art has consistently fetched high prices at auctions, reflecting its growing financial value. Notable records include: 

1. L'Homme au doigt (Pointing Man)(1947) sold for $141.3 million at Christie's in 2015.

2. L'Homme qui marche I (Walking Man I)" (1960) achieved $104.3 million at Sotheby's in 2010.

3. Chariot (1950) reached $101 million at Sotheby's in 2014.

4. Grande femme debout II (1960) sold for $27.5 million at Christie's in 2010.

Splint Invest Culture

Check out Giacometti’s works in Zurich this weekend:

The Alberto Giacometti Foundation holds the most important museum collection of works by the Swiss sculptor, painter and designer Alberto Giacometti (1901–1966). It is largely kept at the Kunsthaus Zürich and presented in the permanent collection. The administration and the documentary collection are also domiciled at the Kunsthaus.

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"The object of art is not to reproduce reality, but to create a reality of the same intensity." Alberto Giacometti.