Hélène and Bernard Arnault
Hélène and Bernard Arnault have consistently sought the collaboration of artists to infuse creativity into new products for their exclusive brands. Notably, they have enlisted the talents of renowned artists like Richard Prince, Takashi Murakami, and Jeff Koons
Hélène and Bernard Arnault have consistently sought the collaboration of artists to infuse creativity into new products for their exclusive brands. Notably, they have enlisted the talents of renowned artists like Richard Prince, Takashi Murakami, and Jeff Koons to craft coveted handbags for Louis Vuitton and produce special-edition packaging for Dom Perignon.
In 2014, the Fondation Louis Vuitton, a testament to Arnault’s commitment to art and culture, unveiled a $135 million museum designed by the visionary architect Frank Gehry, nestled in Paris’s enchanting Bois de Boulogne. This masterpiece resides within a building that once housed the Museum of Arts and Popular Traditions, and has since become an iconic cultural landmark. Arnault’s art collection boasts an array of postwar and contemporary masterpieces, predominantly blue-chip, featuring artists such as Damien Hirst, Pablo Picasso, and Andy Warhol. To commemorate the foundation’s inauguration, artist Sarah Morris created a compelling film capturing the essence of Gehry’s architectural marvel.
In 2018, the Museum of Modern Art in New York generously loaned the Fondation Louis Vuitton over 200 exceptional artworks, including pieces by luminaries like Paul Cézanne, Marcel Duchamp, and Yvonne Rainer, for a blockbuster exhibition that drew over 750,000 art enthusiasts. During the same year, the Fondation Vuitton hosted acclaimed retrospectives of Jean-Michel Basquiat and Egon Schiele. Arnault’s foundation extends its reach beyond France, curating exhibitions in international venues such as Munich, Beijing, and Venice.
Arnault’s well-documented rivalry with fellow luxury goods magnate and Top 200 collector François Pinault is legendary. Their competition, known as the “handbag war,” has transcended both the art and business domains. In 2008, they fiercely bid against each other for two artworks by French artist Yves Klein at Sotheby’s. In 2018, fashion designer Stella McCartney, affiliated with Pinault’s Kering conglomerate, made headlines by announcing her departure, later revealing her partnership with LVMH in July 2019. Furthermore, following the devastating fire at Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris in April, Pinault and his family pledged €100 million (approximately $113 million) towards its reconstruction and restoration. In a remarkable show of unity, Arnault and LVMH swiftly followed suit, committing €200 million ($226 million) to support the recovery efforts of Notre-Dame.