In front of the large window of the Estades gallery, in the old town, a sign catches the eye: “Let’s buy Buffet’s works: oils, mixed media, drawings, original lithographs.”
The message is clear and sits close to a small format by the artist representing Venice. The Estades gallery has become the meeting place for fans of this contemporary artist, whose popularity is currently reaching new heights.
Bernard Buffet ended his life in the Var and it is in Toulon that his reference gallery is located. Drawings, paintings and lithographs are offered for sale there. But for Michel Estades, a great connoisseur of the artist and owner of the gallery, Buffet’s work is “much more complex and vast: to be rediscovered constantly”. As proof, a major Buffet exhibition is taking place until March 5 in Paris, Place des Vosges.
A paint monster
“I had the chance to meet him once at the Saint-Ouen flea market in the early 1990s, but it was above all Maurice Garnier, his historic dealer, whom I rubbed shoulders with for years. He was an exciting man , very learned, who was able to protect and highlight the work of Buffet”he explains.
Today, Michel Estades goes further and calls on the Toulonnais (and the Varois) who own Buffet pieces to come forward. “Lithographs, inks, oils, drawings, small or large formats: Bernard Buffet’s work is immense. We are interested in offering the public new pieces that tell the different periods of the artist.”
On the private side, now is the perfect time to sell. Bernard Buffet’s rating continues to climb over time. The demand is there, both in France and in the United States and Asia. Buyers and sellers are therefore sure to get a good deal at this time. As for the art market, it has never done so well as at the start of 2023.
For example, the famous clowns of Buffet snapped up at exorbitant prices in the auction rooms. From the 1950s to the 1990s, he was a “paint monster”. Many pieces therefore remain unknown (because jealously guarded by their owners). Today, the value of a lithograph by Buffet is estimated at 3,500 euros and that of an engraving at 2,000 euros. But some signed, numbered and listed pieces can reach astronomical sums. For paintings, count between 30,000 and more than one million euros!
“Getting people to Toulon for Buffet”
At the head of three galleries, in Toulon, Lyon and Paris, Michel Estades has made a specialty of the work of Bernard Buffet. “My pride is also to bring people to Toulon so that they discover known artists, like him, or in the making like Boris Campiston, a sculptor from Toulon, or Thierry Loulé, a painter.
And why not a Buffet museum, one day? In Toulon? Michel Estades dreams but the transition to reality seems more difficult. Unless local institutions take up the case. It would be a unique and new opportunity for Toulon to stand out.
