I am posting a bonus blog today.
Jacques Garcia is one of the most successful and prolific interior designers in the world. Not only has he done home interiors for countless celebrities and dozens of luxury hotels and restaurants around the globe, he’s also decorated rooms at Versailles and 40 galleries in the Louvre. (He decorated the Villa Elena, which was featured in season two of The White Lotus).
Garcia’s most prized possession is Champ de Bataille, a glorious, 17th-century chateau once owned by Count Alexandre de Créqui and designed by Louis le Vau, the architect who designed Versailles and Vaux-le-Vicomte. He purchased Champ de Bataille in 1992 and has tirelessly and relentlessly worked over 30 years to restore the chateau to its original splendor. A collection of 20 gardens on the property, inspired by Andre LeNotre’s designs, makes it the largest private garden in France: Garcia has planted thousands of trees plus added twenty fountains.
Also an avid collector, Garcia has amassed an enormous collection of the finest 17th-century and 18th-century antiques including furniture, rugs, tapestries, and porcelain, much of it from royal heritage.
At 75 years old, Garcia has poured much of his life’s savings, resources, and time into the chateau, and wants to guarantee that the legacy of the chateau is carried through to the next generation. He decided to auction off 75 pieces from his extensive collection to fund the future of Champ de Bataille. Sotheby’s Paris has been put in charge of the auction and the public exhibition of the collection started today and goes until May 15.
I had a chance to visit yesterday, and the collection was exquisite. The lineage was impressive, with pieces that used to belong to Kings Louis XV and Louis XVI, Queens Marie Leszczynska and Marie-Antoinette, King William III and Queen Mary II of England, Scotland and Ireland, the Count of Provence and the Dukes of Penthièvre, Hamilton and Lorraine.
If you go, make sure you watch the fascinating video interview with Jacques Garcia along with montages of the chateau and the gardens.
Jacques Garcia, Intemporel
Public Exhibition
May 12, 13, 14, & 15
Check link below for hours
Sotheby’s Paris
76 rue Faubourg Saint Honoré, 75008
https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2023/jacques-garcia-intemporel
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