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36 bronze busts, Valsuani Founder from the publisher Maurice Le Garrec collection, produced between 1955 and 1960 PIASA group, Drouot-Paris. These busts carried only an estimate of 600 000 to 800 000 FF and such bid was in fact a record price mainly due to the fact that an exhibition on Daumier was being held at the Grand Palais at the same time. In addition, it was the only complete series in private hands. Daumier produced many terracotta busts of celebrities of his time between 1832 and 1835. These busts were complementary to many caricatures of parliamentarians, lawyers and publishers he had published in satirical newspapers. Daumier sold 36 of these small sculptures to Charles Philippon, editor of «La caricature». They were bought in 1927 by Maurice Le Garrec who had them restored by Fix-Masseau, a sculptor, and asked the Barbedienne foundry to edit them in bronze. Each bust was produced in a series of 25 or 30 units, numbered and marked MLG. When the Barbedienne foundry went bankrupt in 1953, Mrs le Garrec asked the Valsuani foundry to produce three series marked LG, C and Mrs H. After these series were edited, the moulds and the plasters were destroyed in 1960. The original terracottas, which were exhibited at the Grand Palais until January 7th 2000, were acquired by the Orsay museum in 1980 after an exhibition held at the Sagot-le Garrec gallery. |
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