François-Xavier Lalanne

Frederick Eberstadt, New York

Purchased from the above by the present owner

Les Lalanne, exh. cat., Centre Pompidou, Paris, 1975, p. 79 (for related example of the sardine pillows in the Boîte de Sardines)

Daniel Marchesseau, Les Lalanne, Paris, 1998, p. 41 (for photograph of Alexander Iolas laying on a Boîte de sardines) 

Daniel Abadie, Lalanne(s), Paris, 2008, pp. 226-227, 310 (for photograph of Alexander Iolas laying on a Boîte de sardines), 345 (for image of the artist, Claude Lalanne, and Ray Charles holding a related example) 

Les Lalanne, exh. cat., Musée des arts décoratifs, Paris, 2010, pp. 76, 78 (for photograph of Alexander Iolas laying on a Boîte de sardines) 

Paul Kasmin, Claude & François-Xavier Lalanne: Art | Work | Life, New York, 2012, n.p.

Adrian Dannatt, François-Xavier and Claude Lalanne: In the Domain of Dreams, New York, 2018, p. 268

Les lalannes: Zoophites: From the collection of Caroline Hamisky Lalanne, exh. cat., Kasmin Gallery, New York, 2024, p. 27

François-Xavier Lalanne first conceived the Sardine Pillows in 1972, when Jane Holzer—then director of Daedalus Concepts in New York and a noted muse of Andy Warhol—commissioned the artist to create a bed in the form of an open tin of sardines, with the Sardine Pillows tightly packed in as padding. Holzer showcased the whimsical piece as part of the groundbreaking exhibition Furniture Design by Artists at Leo Castelli's legendary gallery at 420 West Broadway. The show featured works by twenty other notable artists, including Robert Rauschenberg, Richard Chamberlain, Mark di Suvero, and Donald Judd. The bed garnered widespread attention, even gracing the front page of The New York Times under the headline: Ah, to Sleep In a Real Bed Of Fake Fish, heralding the exhibition’s opening on 7 September 1972. 

The present group of Sardine Pillows was purchased from the estate of renowned New York fashion and society photographer Frederick Eberstadt. A former television professional, Eberstadt left NBC to become an assistant to Richard Avedon before launching a celebrated career of his own. He captured images of stars such as Sophia Loren, Bette Davis, and Marilyn Monroe, and contributed to a wide array of leading newspapers and magazines. 

Only a handful of Sardine Pillows were ever produced outside the original sardine tin bed ensemble, making them exceptionally rare.