Ferdinand Hodler, "Genfersee von Chexbres aus" (Lake Geneva from Chexbres), 1904, sold by Sotheby's in Zurich 28 November for CHF7.14 million
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – The art market is alive and thriving, Sotheby’s Swiss art sales Monday evening 28 November in Zurich made clear.
A 1904 painting of Lake Geneva from Chexbres by Ferdinand Hodler fetched CHF7.14 million, well above its pre-sale estimate of CHF3-5m. It was sold by telephone to a private collector.
The painting’s price is not a record for a Hodler work, but a record was set for a painting by Alfred Anker, with “Strickendes Mädchen, Kleinkind in der Wiege hütend”, which sold for CHF6.13 million. The 1885 oil portrait shows a girl, knitting and watching a toddler in a cradle. It reflects childhood, a theme that recurs often in Anker’s portraits.
Hodler’s priciest painting to date is a view of Lake Geneva from the fields above Saint Prex, sold in 2007 for CHF10.9m.
The Zurich auction Monday brought together an unusually large group of representative 19th and 20th century paintings by several of Switzerland’s most popular artists. Total sales were CHF17.41 for lots that together were estimated at CHF11m before the sale.
Sotheby’s notes that the Hodler painting from a private collection, on the market for the first time since 1963, is a close cousin to one in Geneva.
“The view of Lake Geneva from Chexbres inspired many landscapes by Hodler (1853-1918) between 1895 and 1911. The artist, however, painted only two landscapes from the vantage point featured in this iconic work. Dating from circa May 1904, this oil on canvas was probably executed shortly before a very similar canvas which is now part of the collection of the Musée d’Art et d’Histoire in Geneva. It reflects the stylistic direction taken by Hodler in the early 1900s. In 1904, the artist took part in the Vienna Secession and the influence of the Jugenstil movement is clearly mirrored in the ornamentation, curves and lines of the painting. Testament to Hodler’s style are also the composition’s parallel design, the depiction of forms as large spreads of colour and the dominance of the colour blue, symbol of transcendence for the artist.”
Strong sales for panoply of Swiss artists’ works shows growing interest
Other artworks of note that were sold Monday:
Calibre 89, auctioned an Antiquorum, Geneva
Cartier watch made in honour of Red Cross, Sotheby's sale
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – A watch made for an Ethiopian emperor and a 1948 pink gold watch with a perpetual calendar and moon phases are among the top pieces on the watches auction list at Sotheby’s Sunday 15 November.
The world’s most complicated timepiece, a Patek Philippe Calibre 89 watch with 33 complications, is up for auction Saturday 14 November at Antiquorum.
The two Geneva auction houses hold their big annual watch sales, which dominate the market, every November.
Several historical watches are top of the billing at Sotheby’s:
Title: Simon de Pury, an expert view of the art market from the man with the gavel, BSCC
Location: Hotel Beau Rivage, quai du Mont-Blanc 13 1201 Genève
Link out: Click here
Description: Simon de Pury on the international art market.
11:45 for drinks, 12:15 for lunch
CHF85 for members, CHF105 for non-members.
Start Time: 11:45
Date: 25 Nov 2009
End Time: 14:00
Register on-line by Monday 23 November. Further details from bscc.geneva@gmail.com
Lesotho I diamond set in a ring by Harry Winston, Sotheby's November 2008 auction in Geneva
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – This is one of the big weeks in the year for Geneva’s international art market, with auctions taking place at lakefront hotels in Geneva for top-end watches, jewelry and antiques. The world will be watching closely to see if the art market here reflects the economic downturn. Wednesday , a Francis Bacon self-portrait that was expected to sell for $40 million was pulled from a Christie’s auction in New York when it reached only $27.4m, to gasps from the crowd.
