Catalog 20New
Exclusive Fine Art Photography now on sale
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.
Gunther Sachs arranged for Andy Warhol to be flown to Hamburg especially for the opening. The two were by now very close friends, Warhol also created graphics with Sachs' profile. The philanthropist was already known at the time as a collector and patron of the arts.
The large scale silkscreen print of Gunther Sachs, playing chess, was composed and printed in 2020 by Jans Bock-Schroeder. For further information about Gunther Sachs Contemporary Prints please visit: Art Investment for Dummies
The photograph was taken in 1962 by Peter Bock-Schroeder in Gunther Sachs' Paris apartment
Vintage Print available
EnquireThey 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.
For over half a century, Gunter Sachs was not only one of the most dazzling, but also one of the most misjudged public figures.
Albrecht Graf Goertz, aristocrat, emigrant, aesthete, cosmopolitan - and car designer
Where does my fascination for photography come from and how did I become a photo journalist?
The Princely Collections now comprise some 1700 paintings and sculptures.