Death of auctioneer Pierre Cornette de Saint Cyr (Clères 1956 - 1957)

Portrait of Pierre Cornette de Saint-Cyr ©DR

All Paris knew this face with its eternally tanned complexion. Yesterday, Sunday August 20, Pierre Cornette de Saint Cyr died at the Platanes retirement home in Saint-Tropez (Var) at the age of 84, "as a result of a neurodegenerative disease", according to the daily newspaper "Le Monde". The French auctioneer and former president of the Palais de Tokyo (2003-2012) was best known for founding the eponymous auction house, but also for attending countless vernissages and participating in the capital's social events.

From engineering studies to the sale of the Foujita estate

Pierre Cornette de Saint Cyr was born in 1939 in Meknes, Morocco. After secondary school at the Ecole des Roches in Clères, he trained as an engineer, then as a lawyer. A collector of old drawings and photographs, he finally opened his own auction house in 1973, later joined by his sons Arnaud and Bertrand. Between 2003 and 2012, he was President of the Palais de Tokyo on a voluntary basis, developing the site for contemporary creation with Pierre Restany, Nicolas Bourriaud and Jérôme Sans. In 2009, Pierre Cornette de Saint-Cyr was awarded the Prix de l'Excellence française. The auctioneer has also written several books, including L'art c'est la vie : Souvenirs d'un commissaire-priseur (Éditions Michel Lafon, 2004).

Cornette de Saint Cyr auction house premises, avenue Hoche, Paris © Fatima Jellaoui

Established in 2008 on avenue Hoche (Paris 8th arrondissement), the auction house specializes in contemporary art and design, as well as primitive arts, cars, jewelry and watches. "The name of Pierre Cornette de Saint Cyr will remain associated with the first sales of Chinese contemporary art in France (...) and with those of major collections including Stéphane Collaro's contemporary art (2001), Alain Delon's modern paintings (2007), and the dispersal of the estate of French-Japanese painter Kimiyo Foujita (2011-2013)," says the auction house in a press release. The contents of the Hôtel Royal Monceau (2008) and the Hélène Rochas collection (2016) have also been dispersed by the family business. Last June, the fifth Alain Delon sale, which included ancient and modern works of art, fetched no less than 8 million euros.

In 2022, the auction house was acquired by the British firm Bonhams, which was seeking to expand in Europe. The Parisian auction house and the one on Chaussée de Charleroi in Brussels became a new entity: Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr, chaired by his son Arnaud Cornette de Saint Cyr. "His human qualities, recognized by all, and his enthusiasm will be missed by the entire art market. Our thoughts are with his wife, children and family," says Bruno Vinciguerra, CEO of Bonhams.

Auctioneer for stars and charities

Pierre Cornette de Saint Cyr is often immortalized in photographs alongside stars such as Alain Delon, Nana Mouskouri and Mireille Darc. He has also introduced some of them to the art world, such as his former lover Marie Laforêt, who became an auctioneer in Geneva in the 1980s with his help. The auctioneer has also organized or participated in charity events, such as the 2016 sale organized by the Keliah association to benefit the pediatric oncology department of Israel's Rambam Hospital, and the 2021 event whose proceeds were donated to the Raoni Chief Institute.

Message from the President of AERN and his Committee:
It is with great emotion that AERN has learned of this sad news. It sends its condolences to his family and especially to his brothers, who like Pierre went to Clères, @BernardCORNETTE DE SAINT-CYR (1957-1962) and @FrançoisCORNETTE DE SAINT-CYR (1956-1964).

AERN addressURL CANONIQUE DECLARED