François-Xavier Fabre (1766-1837)

This heartwarming bronze and concrete lamb, an iconic piece by the late 20th-century visual artist and designer, brings his very personal animal world to mind.

Its owner bought the small white animal in bronze, one of Lalanne’s most emblematic works, directly from the artist.

Throughout his 60-year career, the French sculptor François-Xavier Lalanne stood out for his quirky, poetic view of the animal kingdom.

Given to Claude Troger by François-Xavier Lalanne's brother, this drawing evokes the emblematic animal of the sculptor's work.

With its head tucked into its ruffle and its distinctive single foot, the wader with its well-known silhouette is much sought after by admirers of the iconoclastic sculptor.

The French museum, based in the city of Montpellier, bought a moving still life attributed to the celebrated artist, François Bonvin, at a recent Parisian auction. Dated to 1854, the painting will join two other pieces by Bonvin already in the collection of the museum thanks to a generous gift by Alfred Bruyas in 1868.

A creation from François-Xavier Lalanne’s witty bestiary dominated this auction’s 20th-century tone.

François-Xavier Lalanne’s oversized Grand canard (Big Duck)—an ode to playfulness, which we could use in these trying times—sprang from his whimsical imagination.

At €1,963,000, the bid for this unique web-footed bird was the highest bid of the year at Drouot, yet again acclaiming the success—and talent—of François-Xavier Lalanne.

Like his wife Claude, François-Xavier Lalanne ushered modern sculpture into another dimension by giving it a utilitarian function. But his creations, like this bird, which will soon land in Tours, are always poetic.