When an Iconic New York Artwork Lands at a Parisian Palace Hotel

Claude Lalanne’s monumental New York Apple is now on view at Le Bristol Paris, turning the legendary palace hotel into one of the chicest art stops in the city this spring.

There are artworks that decorate a room, and then there are those that quietly change its atmosphere. At Le Bristol Paris, Claude Lalanne’s New York Apple belongs firmly to the latter category.

Now on view at the legendary Paris palace hotel in a presentation by Christie’s, the monumental sculpture has become one of the season’s most striking cultural appearances in the city, bringing Lalanne’s singular visual language into one of Paris’s most storied settings. It also arrives ahead of Christie’s upcoming 20/21 Century Art Evening Sale, where the work is expected to draw significant attention.

Standing nearly 2.5 metres tall, New York Apple is among the most monumental interpretations of a motif Claude Lalanne returned to throughout her career. What began decades ago as an exploration of natural forms and everyday objects is expanded here into something at once playful, surreal and unmistakably sculptural. This particular work, Edition 7/8 from 2008, is estimated at €5 million to €7 million.

At Le Bristol, the sculpture feels especially well placed. Lalanne’s poetic, organic sensibility meets the hotel’s refined architecture, historic salons and quietly iconic garden, creating a setting that feels less like a conventional display and more like a carefully staged Parisian tableau. The result is not simply an artwork on show, but a cultural moment that brings together art, design and the enduring allure of the city.

New York Apple already carries an international history. The sculpture has previously appeared in prestigious settings including Park Avenue in New York and the gardens of Versailles, and its latest presentation in Paris adds another elegant stop to that story. At Le Bristol, however, it takes on a particular resonance: intimate yet monumental, whimsical yet precise, and entirely at home in a city that still knows how to turn an exhibition into an event.

For spring 2026, Paris has no shortage of beautiful things competing for attention. But Claude Lalanne’s New York Apple at Le Bristol Paris is the one that feels impossible to forget.

For more beautiful hotel and art moments around the world, explore our latest hotel news.

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