Nan Goldin, the extraordinary photographer and downtown New York documentarian, has put 40 of her personal possessions from her Paris apartment on rue Oberkampf for sale at Christies. I have always been a big admirer of her gritty, soulful work, and fascinated with her life story, an incredible saga of East Village life in New York.

Her fascination with religious art, which is a big inspiration in her work, is a major part of the sale which includes Italian reliquaries, sculpted ivories from the 19th century, a Jean Prouve bench, and five of her photographs. Her eclectic collecting style is similar to Yves St. Laurent & Pierre Berge in that she chooses things that touch her and isn’t interested in their monetary value when she buys them. 

Two Siamese stuffed lambs mounted in a glass & wood box is one the more bizarre pieces for sale.