«I JUST READ EVERYTHING»

Next week, Abu Dhabi is holding a ceremony to mark the start of construction of the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the vast new museum designed by French architect Jean Nouvel that will be one of the cornerstones of the Saadiyat Island cultural project. The five cultural institutions planned for the island, including a Guggenheim, are due to start opening from 2014. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi’s ruler, and Nicolas Sarkozy, France’s president, will be at next week’s ceremony and will be able to admire some of the works of art that have been acquired for the future museum, which will be displayed at the Emirates Palace hotel. Intense secrecy has surrounded these first acquisitions but sources in Paris have confirmed that one of the main prizes is Mondrian’s “Composition avec bleu, rouge, jaune et noir” (1922), which sold for €21.7m at the Yves Saint Laurent sale in Paris in February. Other Louvre Abu Dhabi buys are said to include Limoges enamels, Gothic figures and tapestries. Also going to the Gulf is the top lot in the Yves Saint Laurent sale, Matisse’s “Les coucous, tapis bleu et rose” (1911), which made €35.9m. The same sources say it was bought by a member of the Qatari royal family.

-Financial Times
May 22 2009