Catalog 20New
Exclusive Fine Art Photography now on sale
Gunter Sachs, heir to the German Opel car fortune, had exquisite taste
The Picasso on the wall witnessed everything and survived unharmed
In the apartment of Gunther Sachs in the Avenue Foch in Paris in 1963, a painting of the probably most famous artist of the 20th century decorated the walls.
Gunther Sachs with "Bust of a woman", oil on canvas, 61 x 50 cm, by Pablo Picasso. According to the Catalogue Raisonné, the work was painted in winter 1960 in Vauvenarges.
It is certainly rare that an expensive painting by a famous painter like Picasso is shown in such a natural environment, in this case in the home of the young, and aspiring art collector Gunther Sachs.
Gunter Sachs, heir to the German Opel car fortune, had exquisite taste and feeling for art. He had the necessary means to acquire the great masters, but also supported young new artists like the then still unknown Andy Warhol
Photo reporter Peter Bock-Schroeder had actually only come to Sachs' apartment for an afternoon, to photograph a home story for the German magazine Quick. At the invitation of Gunther Sachs, who was curious about photography, he stayed for 3 weeks. The two became friends.
During this time, some unforgettable Parties took place in Avenue Foch, also in the presence of Soraya Esfandiary, the former wife of the Shah of Iran, with whom Sachs was rumored to have an affair. According to Bock-Schroeder there were no security personnel at these events. The Picasso on the wall witnessed everything and survived unharmed.
Picasso's Buste de femme was sold by Christie's in London on June 30, 99 as, lot: 523, for £474,500 to an anonymous collector.
Baby deer hung with jewellery
The photograph was taken in 1962 by Peter Bock-Schroeder in Gunther Sachs' Paris apartment
Vintage Print available
EnquireCOLLECTOR:
SIGN UP TO THE PBS NEWSLETTER
RELATED
January 14, 2019
Peter Bock-Schroeder
They were not the pretty pictures of "willows by the river or beeches in the fog" that he was after, but rather the landscapes of a world violently "disturbed" by man.
July 30, 2020
He embodied the gentleman playboy like few
For over half a century, Gunter Sachs was not only one of the most dazzling, but also one of the most misjudged public figures.
July 27, 2020
The sublime BMW 507
Albrecht Graf Goertz, aristocrat, emigrant, aesthete, cosmopolitan - and car designer
February 4, 2019
Disturbed Landscapes
Where does my fascination for photography come from and how did I become a photo journalist?
July 30, 2020
Reigning Prince
The Princely Collections now comprise some 1700 paintings and sculptures.
