FRIDAY, MAY 16, 2025 
Frédéric Mitterrand – A Life Steeped in Art and Culture
A rt and culture have always been at the heart of Frédéric Mitterrand’s life. A man as sensitive as he was endearing, a gifted writer and talented filmmaker, he surrounded himself throughout his life with books, archives, documents, posters and photographs, creating around him a dreamlike and nostalgic world where each figure in his personal pantheon held a cherished place.
This collection of over 350 lots of furniture, paintings and historical objects from his three main residences—Paris, Saint-Gratien and Hammamet—reflects both his deep love of the arts and his insatiable intellectual curiosity.
From the 1920s to the 1960s, transport companies—rail, air and sea—made increasing use of posters for advertising. Several fine examples feature in the sale, illustrated by artists such as Joseph de la Nézière (lot 648 – est. €600–800), Henri Jossot (lot 655 – est. €1,000–1,200), Roger Broders (lot 657 – est. €800–1,000), Armand Ravelet (lot 662 – est. €800–1,000), Ernest Louis Lessieux (lot 683 – est. €800–1,000) and Alexis de Broca (lot 703 – est. €1,200–1,500).
The collection also includes a number of furniture pieces and objets d’art, notably a pair of walnut stools with moucharabieh-style openwork decoration (lot 676 – est. €300–500), and several sets of traditional Berber pottery (lots 697 to 700 – est. €150–200).
In the sculpture section, two reproductions after Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (including lot 659 – est. €600–800) revisit his series of busts entitled Why Born Enslaved!, originally executed between 1868 and 1870 as preparatory studies for the Fontaine de l’Observatoire in Paris. Also of note is Danseuse d’El-Oued, a patinated plaster sculpture by André-Armand Lenoir—a larger version of which is held by the Musée du Quai Branly (lot 660 – est. €400–600).
Several watercolours, canvases and drawings evoke 19th-century Tunisia—its people and its landscapes. Among the most moving is a drawing by Alexandre Roubtzoff, Group of Children Playing in a Street of the Casbah, Tunis (lot 625 – est. €2,000–3,000).
Among the lithographs is the bohemian spirit of the late 19th century, with Aristide Bruant at His Cabaret by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, printed in four colours in 1893 (lot 542 – est. €1,000–1,500), and, from a more recent period, the bold modernity of Hans Hartung in three sets of prints and lithographs (lots 544 to 546 – est. €300–500).
The collection also includes paintings by Paul Aizpiri, notably a fine Still Life (lot 557 – est. €1,500–2,000), and the iconic Parade at the Metropolitan Opera poster by David Hockney (lot 559 – est. €2,000–3,000).
Memories of North Africa
For nearly 40 years, Frédéric Mitterrand assembled a collection devoted to North Africa, with a particular focus on Tunisia, a country he held dear and considered his second homeland. Always on the lookout for rare books, early publications or photographic prints, he enriched this collection with an important ensemble of advertising and travel posters. The oldest of these, dating from 1892, was designed by Hugo d’Alesi—one of the most prolific poster artists of the Belle Époque—and promotes the Paris-Lyon-Mediterranean railway lines serving Tunisia (lot 640 – est. €800–1,200).
The collection also includes a number of furniture pieces and objets d’art, notably a pair of walnut stools with moucharabieh-style openwork decoration (lot 676 – est. €300–500), and several sets of traditional Berber pottery (lots 697 to 700 – est. €150–200).
Orientalism
Photography holds a special place in this section, with around fifty lots from prestigious studios active in the mid-19th century: Gabriel Lekegian (lot 716 – est. €400–600), Jean-André Garrigues—whose works include a large 1893 album of photographs of Tunisia (lot 780 – est. €1,200–1,500), Joseph Albert (est. €400–600), and around thirty lots by Rudolf Lehnert and Ernst Landrock, including four large period prints of the palm groves of Tozeur (lot 726 – est. €1,200–1,500).
In the sculpture section, two reproductions after Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (including lot 659 – est. €600–800) revisit his series of busts entitled Why Born Enslaved!, originally executed between 1868 and 1870 as preparatory studies for the Fontaine de l’Observatoire in Paris. Also of note is Danseuse d’El-Oued, a patinated plaster sculpture by André-Armand Lenoir—a larger version of which is held by the Musée du Quai Branly (lot 660 – est. €400–600).
Several watercolours, canvases and drawings evoke 19th-century Tunisia—its people and its landscapes. Among the most moving is a drawing by Alexandre Roubtzoff, Group of Children Playing in a Street of the Casbah, Tunis (lot 625 – est. €2,000–3,000).
Modern Art
The modern art section includes several fine works on paper, among them a 1932 drawing by Pavel Tchelitcheff, Portrait of a Young Boy with Hands in His Pockets (lot 537 – est. €2,000–3,000), two original works by Gabriel Pomerand (lots 539 and 540 – est. €2,500–3,500), and a drawing by Pierre Le-Tan, The Adventures of Ralph and Wulfran, a gift from the artist to Frédéric Mitterrand (lot 562 – est. €2,000–3,000).Among the lithographs is the bohemian spirit of the late 19th century, with Aristide Bruant at His Cabaret by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, printed in four colours in 1893 (lot 542 – est. €1,000–1,500), and, from a more recent period, the bold modernity of Hans Hartung in three sets of prints and lithographs (lots 544 to 546 – est. €300–500).
The collection also includes paintings by Paul Aizpiri, notably a fine Still Life (lot 557 – est. €1,500–2,000), and the iconic Parade at the Metropolitan Opera poster by David Hockney (lot 559 – est. €2,000–3,000).
