Pierre Cornette de Saint-Cyr, founder of the eponymous family auction house bought by Bonhams in 2022, died on Sunday August 20. Highly publicized French auctioneer known to all of Paris in the art market, Pierre Cornette de Saint-Cyr founded his auction house in 1973, later joined by his two sons, Arnaud and Bertrand. He died in his residence in Saint-Tropez (Var), at the age of 84, the auction house told AFP.
He specialized early in contemporary art and presided over the Palais de Tokyo in Paris from 2003 to 2012. He was renowned for his celebrity and charity sales in France. His house, established in the famous avenue Hoche in Paris and chaussée de Charleroi in Brussels, notably organized the sales of collections such as that of modern paintings by Alain Delon in 2007, the estate of the Franco-Japanese painter Foujita in 2011, the furniture from the Hôtel Royal Monceau in 2008 or from the collection of Hélène Rochas in 2016.
Born on January 1, 1939 in Meknes, Morocco, this collector of old drawings and photographs had begun engineering studies before embracing the profession of auctioneer.
Bonhams had bought the family house in 2022. This British auction house has 14 auction rooms around the world, in which it organizes physical and online sales, and more than sixty departments in all fields (impressionism, art modern, contemporary art, Asian art, whisky, collector’s weapons, vintage cars, celebrity memorabilia, NFTs, etc.).
