Billionaire hedge fund manager Steve Cohen paid almost $101 million for a sculpture by the artist Alberto Giacometti. “Chariot” was bought at auction from Sotheby’s last week.
Apparently Cohen can afford to spend this little bit of pocket change on a statue because his fund recently made a 15% gain. Cohen was reportedly the only bidder and did get a bit of a discount as the statue was expected to fetch more than $104 million. It was purchased from the private collection of Greek shipping tycoon Alexander Goulandris.
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Made in 1950, Chariot is a bronze statue with a somewhat elongated woman standing atop a two wheeled ancient Egyptian chariot. It is one of only six sculptures made by the Swiss artist.
From New York’s Museum of Modern Art’s description:
“According to the artist, The Chariot was partly inspired by the memory of a ‘sparkling pharmacy cart’ he saw when briefly hospitalized. It was also prompted by his desire to position a figure in empty space in order to see it better and to situate it at a precise distance from the floor.”
“It’s one of the great 20th-century sculptures, ’’ William Acquavella, a Manhattan art dealer, told the New York Times. “Steve is a very serious, very astute collector. He also has just the right instincts, ones that can’t be learned from reading art history books, ’’ Acquavella said of Cohen.
Chariot should fit in nicely with Cohen’s art collection which is valued at over $1 billion. In 2012 Cohen bought a Picasso painting, called “Le Reve” from casino magnate Steve Wynn for $155 million. He also owns a Pollock drip painting and Damien Hirst’s famous shark piece, “The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, ” which he bought from Charles Saatchi for $8 million in 2004.
