Auction houses hammer it out over YSL’s art

Two of Britain’s biggest auction houses, Christie’s and Sotheby’s, are going at it over the rights to sell off Yves Saint Laurent’s £300m art collection. Pierre Berge, business partner and heir of the French fashion designer, who died last month, is said to be considering disposing of the collection, which includes works by Warhol, Picasso and Matisse, and moore. It’s not the first time that people have gone crazy for a YSL collection, but with a 12 per cent auctioneer’s premium on everything sold, it’s little wonder that Christie’s and Sotheby’s have both “pitched” to Berge, according to the Art Newspaper. Given that Christie’s owner François Pinault used to own the YSL couture house, Sotheby’s may have an uphill battle on its gavel-wielding hands for what its UK chairman James Stourton called “a room of masterpieces”.