A three-day auction of art and furnishings that belonged to the late fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent is seeing sale prices far exceeding estimates, with dollar amounts almost as spectacular as the range of items being sold. A list of artwork already sold in the Monday-to-Wednesday auction in Paris shows pieces from Matisse to Brancusi fetching tens of millions of dollars, according to the Web site of Christie’s, the auction house that is holding the sale. The largest amount so far was €35,905,000 ($45,264,579), the price realized for French Impressionist Henri Matisse’s painting “Les coucous, tapis bleu et rose.” That was more than double Christie’s estimate of €12 to 18 million ($15,526,268 and $23,289,403)
