Coarse skin, matchstick-thin, and oozing existential dread—the signature of Alberto Giacometti is unmistakable. “The object of art is not to reproduce reality, but to create a reality of the same intensity,” Giacometti once said. Such offerings are accompanied by intense market speculation and global attention: Which deep-pocketed collector will emerge victorious from the bidding war? Will the artist’s already astronomical auction records hold—or shatter, as they have time and again? (And, yes, if you were wondering, a Giacometti work does place on our top 10 list of the most expensive artworks ever sold at auction.)