German Playboy Gunter Sachs’s Photos Hit the Auction Block

Gunter Sachs, Ascot (1995) Photo: Courtesy KunstKontor

Two years after a 41-lot sale of artworks and furniture from the collection of late jet-setting playboy Gunter Sachs sold for $56 million at Sotheby’s, a selection of his photos are up for auction at Germany’s KunstKontor.

While Sachs was better known in the art world for his avid collecting, especially of Pop, and in the tabloids for his short-lived marriage to Brigitte Bardot and generally extravagant lifestyle, he was also keen to get behind the other side of the photo lens. Eighteen of Sachs’ photos from 1993–1998 are up for bidding through June 6th, consigned by a friend.

Sachs is in good company. The auction also includes 26 photos by Andy Warhol, Billy Name, Nat Finkelstein, and Christopher Makos. Sachs gave Warhol his first European exhibition in his Hamburg gallery in 1972.

Sachs committed suicide in 2011 at the age of 78. According to reports at the time, he shot himself in his Gstaad chalet due to a degenerative brain condition that made him perceive that he was losing his memory.


Follow Artnet News on Facebook:


Want to stay ahead of the art world? Subscribe to our newsletter to get the breaking news, eye-opening interviews, and incisive critical takes that drive the conversation forward.
  • Access the data behind the headlines with the artnet Price Database.
Article topics