Yves Saint Laurent had plenty of star power but the sale of his art collection by Pierre Bergé made art stars out of the Lalannes, two French designers with distinctive styles. One of their signature pieces was a life-like sheep that has resonated with New York’s civic leaders, Carol Vogel tells us:
A life-size flock of sheep and, appropriately, a big apple more than eight feet tall are coming to Park Avenue this fall, along with a bronze bunny, a seated monkey and a giant owl, the work of the French artists Claude and François-Xavier Lalanne. Although they were married for 41 years, the two largely worked independently of each other. Now, from Sept. 13 through Nov. 20, their animal menagerie will adorn the meridians between 52nd and 57th Streets.
The Park Avenue displays represent the first large-scale outdoor exhibition of Lalanne pieces in the United States. Adrian Benepe, the city’s parks commissioner, who oversees art along Park Avenue along with the Fund for Park Avenue Sculpture Committee, said he thought this project would be particularly popular. “I think it will have kids and families looking once and looking twice,” he said.
Inside Art (New York Times)