Alberto Giacometti Portrait of Soshana| 1958

“Giacometti, the most important Swiss artist of the 20th century and of timeless style, has experienced an exceptional surge in demand and value. Over the past decade, the global Giacometti market has more than doubled, making him rank among the top 12 best-selling artists by value.” - Javier Lumbreras, CEO at Artemundi

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Who is Alberto Giacometti?
Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966) is the most important Swiss artist of the 20th century and a leading figure of Modernism. Celebrated for his unique interpretation of the human figure, Giacometti ranks among the best-selling artists globally as his work lastingly impacted the turn of art history. Greatly appreciated by collectors and investors, the global Giacometti market more than doubled in the last decade and shows a steep upward tendency. Giacometti ranks among the top 12 best-selling artists by value and his market reached a turnover of over USD 64 million in 2023 alone. His work "L'homme au doigt" sold at Christie’s in 2015 for USD 141 million and even almost ten years later it remains the seventh highest selling piece of Impressionist, Modern and Contemporary art at auction.

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.

Portrait of Soshana
The 1958 drawing by 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.

Born in Vienna, Soshana Afroyim (1927-2015) was an Austrian artist who lived and worked in Vienna, London, Paris, New York, Cuba, and Mexico. A restless soul, Soshana also traveled widely through Africa, where she portrayed Albert Schweitzer, and through Asia, where she absorbed Asian calligraphy influences in her later work. When Soshana was only eleven years old, her family fled Nazi-occupied Austria and settled first in Paris, then in London, and later in New York, where she attended various art schools and began painting. She quickly became a skilled portrait painter and portrayed well-known personalities, including author Thomas Mann, artist Albert Gütersloh, women’s rights activist Anita Whitney, philosopher Isaku Yanahihara, and many more. Soshana also became acquainted with artists Pablo Picasso, Mark Rothko, Yves Klein, and Marc Chagall. A special bond connected her with Alberto Giacometti, whom she considered one of her best friends and portrayed various times, including postmortem in fond memory of the Swiss artist.

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