Mark Brown “Drawings found in London antiques shop accredited to Giacometti“ https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/aug/09/drawings-found-in-london-antiques-shop-confirmed-as-giacometti-works
剣橋のオークション・ハウスCheffins*1は2010年に亡くなった女性骨董商Eila Grahameの遺品（在庫品）の競売を昨年から行っているが、その中からアルベルト・ジャコメッティ*2の素描らしきものが２点発見されたという。
このEila Grahameという方もなかなか豪快な方だったようだ*4。既に売却された彼女の遺品（在庫品）には、例えばダイアナ妃の大おばが所有していたエドワード朝のダイアモンドのティアラなどがある*5。
Martin Millard, a director at Cheffins, said a mention of two possible Giacometti head portraits had been made in a previous valuation of Grahame’s effects – but they were presumed lost or sold because “they were not immediately evident as we were going round the property”.Millard added: “At the time we didn’t know if it was two pieces of paper, two large sketches, whether they were done on the back of a cigarette packet or whether they were done on large canvases. We didn’t know what we were looking for.
“We eventually found them buried under piles of dust-covered antiques, paintings and drawings.”
What the auction house discovered were pencil sketches on a piece of paper. On one side were studies of various heads and on the other a nude woman standing. They look like Giacometti and were signed and dated 1947 but that, of course, does not mean they are genuine.
“That’s when the work started,” said Millard. “That’s when we had to prove it was a genuine Giacometti, so we’ve had a lot of fun with that, a lot of sleepless nights.”
The drawings were sent to Paris where a committee of the Giacometti Foundation*3 authenticated them and added them to the artist’s catalogue raisonné.
It has been an exciting journey, said Millard. “You live for these moments when you do find little gems hidden away.
Advertisement“These drawings have never before been seen by the public and we are expecting them to be of interest to museums and galleries around the world as well as individual collectors.”
なお、英国では、Geoffrey Rush主演のジャコメッティ伝記映画Final Portrait*6が今月一般公開されるのだった（監督・脚本はStanley Tucci）。
*2:See also http://d.hatena.ne.jp/sumita-m/20160520/1463679706 http://d.hatena.ne.jp/sumita-m/20160523/1463973438
*3:http://www.fondation-giacometti.fr/
*4:See Nicolas Barker “Eila Grahame: Antiques dealer whose shop was a magnet for curators and collectors” http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/eila-grahame-antiques-dealer-whose-shop-was-a-magnet-for-curators-and-collectors-1921455.html
*5:See “Cheffins Fine Art sale ignites market with stellar prices across the board” http://www.cheffins.co.uk/en/news/cheffins-fine-art-sale-ignites-market-with-stellar-prices-across-the-board
*6:See Peter Bradshaw “Final Portrait review: Geoffrey Rush shines in Stanley Tucci's witty Giacometti sketch” https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/feb/11/final-portrait-review-geoffrey-rush-shines-in-stanley-tuccis-witty-giacometti-sketch
