Alberto Giacometti was a painter, printmaker and furniture designer but he is best known as one of the 20th century’s most important sculptors. He is revered for the elongated, slender human figures he created in the years following World War II that reflected existentialism and the trauma associated with the conflict.
Giacometti was born in Borgonovo, Switzerland, in 1901 to a creative family. His father Giovanni was a Post-Impressionist painter, his godfather Cuno Amiet was a Fauvist painter, his brother Bruno was an architect, and his other brother Diego was an artist and furniture designer who also served as Giacometti’s model. (The sculptor worked chiefly with models plucked from his personal life.)
Beginning in 1922, Giacometti studied at the Académie de la Grande-Chaumière in Paris and was influenced by the Cubist work of Alexander Archipenko, Raymond Duchamp-Villon and the post-Cubist sculptures of Jacques Lipchitz and Henri Laurens.
During the 1930s, Giacometti designed furniture such as lamps, vases and wall décor to earn a living, often collaborating with interior designer Jean-Michel Frank, whose interiors tastefully mixed extravagance with sophisticated simplicity. However, Giacometti’s passion lay in creating sculptures.
Alberto and his brother Diego left Paris in 1940 to escape the Nazi invasion and spent time in the South of France before fleeing to Geneva, remaining there until 1946. In 1947, Giacometti began work on his most famous sculptures — very tall and thin figurines that came to be associated with frailty and loneliness.
Giacometti catapulted to fame in the United States following two exhibitions of his sculptures in 1948 and 1950 at the Pierre Matisse Gallery in New York City — Jean-Paul Sartre authored the catalogue essay for the latter. In 1961, Giacometti’s friend, Irish playwright Samuel Beckett, asked him to design the set for a re-staging of his play “Waiting for Godot.” His response took on the form of a single plaster tree.
In 1962, Giacometti won the grand prize for sculpture at the Venice Biennale, and for much of the rest of his career, he created modern paintings, drawings and sculptures of plaster, clay and bronze in his small Paris studio. He died in 1966.
Giacometti’s works continue to enthrall collectors. In 2010, his life-size bronze sculpture L'Homme qui marche (“the man who walks”), which now adorns the 100 Swiss Franc banknote, became one of the most expensive sculptures to be sold at auction.
On 1stDibs, discover a range of vintage Alberto Giacometti wall decorations, prints and sculptures.
The Pointing Man, in the Studio L’homme qui pointe dans l’atelier - Swiss Art
By Alberto Giacometti
Located in London, GB
ALBERTO GIACOMETTI 1901-1966 Borgonovo 1901-1966 Chur, Switzerland (Swiss) Title: The Pointing Man, in the Studio L’homme qui pointe dans l’atelier, 1951 Technique: Original Hand ...
Lithograph
Annette Standing in the Studio - Original Lithograph on Arches Vellum
By Alberto Giacometti
Located in Paris, IDF
Alberto GIACOMETTI (1901-1966) Annette in the Studio Lithograph (Arte / Maeght workshop) Unsigned On Arches vellum, 50 x 65.5 cm (c. 20 x 26 in) INFORMATION: Rare proof on vellum ...
Lithograph
Studio with the Stove - Original Etching, 1956
By Alberto Giacometti
Located in Paris, IDF
Alberto GIACOMETTI Studio with the Stove, 1956 Original etching On Arches vellum 32.5 x 25 cm (c. 13 x 10 inches) REFERENCES: - Eberhard W. Kornfeld et la Fondation Giacometti...
Etching
Inspiration, Modern Art Lithograph by Marc Chagall
By Marc Chagall
Located in Long Island City, NY
"Inspiration" is an original lithograph by Marc Chagall published in the "Lithographs of Marc Chagall vol. II". The book was published in a limited edition of 6000. Size: 12.5 x 9.5...
Lithograph
$475
H 7.125 in W 8.375 in
GREETINGS FROM THE HOUSE OF WEYHE. Many Known Artists Inside the Gallery
Located in Santa Monica, CA
MAYBEL DWIGHT (1875 - 1955) GREETINGS FROM THE HOUSE OF WEYHE, 1928 Lithograph, signed in the plate. Image 7 1/8 x 8 3/8” + printed title. Sheet 8 ¼ x 9” as issued. Xmas card iss...
Lithograph
Winners and Loosers
By Arnold Friberg 1
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork titled "Winners Loosers" is a color offset lithograph by renown western artist Arnold Friberg, 1913-2010. It is hand signed and inscribed/n...
Lithograph
$1,500
H 29 in W 39 in
Silence For John Cage Hand Signed by Richard Serra exhibition print Minimalist
By Richard Serra
Located in New York, NY
Richard Serra Silence, For John Cage (Hand Signed), 2016 Offset lithograph (hand signed by Richard Serra) 29 inches vertical × 39 inches horizontal Boldly signed in black marker on t...
Offset, Permanent Marker, Lithograph
Poker Night at the Club
By Guy Buffet
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork titled "Poker Night at the Club" c.1990 is an original color lithograph on paper by noted French artist Guy Buffet, b.1943. It is hand signed and numbered 240/350 in pen...
Lithograph
Songbird
By Pati Bannister
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork titled "Strawberies" 1990 is a color off set lithograph by British/American artist Pati Bannister, 1929-2013. It is hand signed, titled and numbered 45/485 in pencil by ...
Lithograph
$1,923
H 19.18 in W 16.15 in
Concerto - Etching and Aquatint on Auvergne Paper, Modern, Signed, 1967
By Henry Moore
Located in London, GB
Etching and aquatint in black on Auvergne paper Image Size: 13 x 10 cm Sheet Size: 32 x 25 cm Framed 48.7 x 41 cm Edition of 50 hand-signed and numbered by the artist.
Etching, Aquatint
$1,500
H 13.5 in W 18.5 in
Chapel of the Agriculture School, Chapingo (Forces Under the Earth)
By (after) Diego Rivera
Located in Missouri, MO
(after) Diego Rivera "Chapel, Agriculture School, Chapingo" (Forces Under the Earth) 1933 from the portfolio "Frescoes of Diego Rivera" Published by the Museum of Modern Art, NY Approx. 18.5 x 13.5 with Matting Hand-Signed by the Artist Diego Rivera was born on December 13, 1886 in the mountain town of Guanajuato in Mexico. His mother was an ardent Catholic and his father was a rich and aristocratic revolutionary fighter and an atheist. Little Diego decided in favor of atheism. He swore his family had to leave Guanajuato when he was six because of his diatribes against the Church. When he was eleven he attended the San Carlos Academy of Fine Arts; his real teacher was Jose Posada...
Lithograph
Winter's tale
By Pati Bannister
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork titled "Winter's Tales" 1995 is a color off set lithograph by British/American artist Pati Bannister, 1929-2013. It is hand signed, titled and numbered 409/950 in pencil...
Lithograph
$650
H 23 in W 29 in
Israeli Jerusalem Judaica Sephardic Rabbi, Boy, Torah Art Drawing Bezalel School
By Jossi Stern
Located in Surfside, FL
Vibrant lithograph by Israeli master JOSSI STERN. on paper mounted to board. Sefardic Rabbi studying with son Torah. 23 x 21 framed 13.5 x 19.5 Hungary, b. 1923, d. 1992 Jossi (Yoss...
Lithograph
Show and Tell
By Pati Bannister
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork titled "Show and Tell" 1999, is a color off set lithograph by British/American artist Pati Bannister, 1929-2013. It is hand signed, titled and numbered 476/950 in pencil by the artist. Published by Masters Publishing INC, New York. The image size is 17.5 x 21 inches, sheet size is 23.25 x 26 inches. It is in excellent condition. About the artist: Pati Bannister was born in Highgate, England, overlooking London in 1929. Growing up, both of her parents were artists. Her mother painted watercolor landscapes, while her father painted portraits. To help further her natural talents, she took art lessons as a young girl and ultimately went to work for J. Arthur Rank, the movie maker, as an animator. At 22 years old, she came to the United States as a governess for a family in Connecticut. Later she became a flight attendant in Florida where she met her future husband, Glynn. Little did she know, he would become the strongest influence in her life as he inspired her to pursue and share her artistic abilities with the public. In 1958, Pati and Glynn moved to New Orleans and she started painting portraits in Jackson Square. Eventually, she opened two art galleries located in the French Quarter. In the late 1960's, they moved to the Mississippi Gulf Coast...
Lithograph
Strawberries
By Pati Bannister
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork titled "Strawberies" c.1985, published 1996 is a color off set lithograph by British/American artist Pati Bannister, 1929-2013. It is hand signed, titled and numbered 656/950 in pencil by the artist. Published by Masters Publishing INC, New York. The image size is 16.5 x 21 inches, sheet size is 22.25 x 26 inches. It is in excellent condition. About the artist: Pati Bannister was born in Highgate, England, overlooking London in 1929. Growing up, both of her parents were artists. Her mother painted watercolor landscapes, while her father painted portraits. To help further her natural talents, she took art lessons as a young girl and ultimately went to work for J. Arthur Rank, the movie maker, as an animator. At 22 years old, she came to the United States as a governess for a family in Connecticut. Later she became a flight attendant in Florida where she met her future husband, Glynn. Little did she know, he would become the strongest influence in her life as he inspired her to pursue and share her artistic abilities with the public. In 1958, Pati and Glynn moved to New Orleans and she started painting portraits in Jackson Square. Eventually, she opened two art galleries located in the French Quarter. In the late 1960's, they moved to the Mississippi Gulf Coast...
Lithograph
Sold
H 31.4 in W 25 in
The Candle - Original Lithograph - Handsigned & Limited 23copies / 1961
By Alberto Giacometti
Located in Paris, IDF
Alberto GIACOMETTI The Candle (1961) Original stone lithograph Printed in Atelier Mourlot Handsigned in pencil From a 23 copies limited edition ; the lithograph is not indivi...
Lithograph