ZURICH.- This winter, Sotheby’s Zurich will host Swiss Art/Swiss Made, a traditional auction held twice a year, bringing together the very best of Swiss creativity over the centuries. The sale is highlighted by a group of museum quality works, led by Albert Anker’s signature painting Fleissig/Appliquée (1886), as well as masterworks by Ferdinand Hodler and Ernest Biéler. The selection of works on offer goes beyond conventional boundaries to embrace a diverse range of art by international artists with a connection to Switzerland alongside today’s exciting emerging talent. Featuring an eclectic array of art – from paintings and works on paper to sculpture, design and photography – ranging from the nineteenth century through to the present day, Swiss Art - Swiss Made will offer collectors the opportunity to discover the rich diversity of Swiss artistic production. For the first time, the sale will also include a group of vintage and modern timepieces.

Stéphanie Schleining and Urs Lanter Co-Heads of Sotheby’s Swiss Art Department comment in the run-up to the auction: “For our December auction, we were once again able to put together a very varied and high-quality selection of Swiss art from the 19th century through classical modernism to contemporary works. The assembled group of exceptional and rare masterpieces of museum quality will appeal to several international collectors and confirm the growing interest in Swiss art abroad. As a premiere, we are complementing the Swiss Art/Swiss Made theme in this auction for the first time with Swiss watchmaking art.”

Highlights in the sale include:

The sale is distinguished by three works by Albert Anker. Among them is Fleissig/Appliquée (1886), a charming portrait of Rosa Stucki from the village of Ins. studiously concentrating on her homework. A real masterpiece, this piece is a fascinating discovery for the market having stayed in the same family since the 1930s. Exploring the theme of education, the painting reflects Anker’s commitment to the ideals that impacted the Swiss education system during the nineteenth century – a theme which gained prominence among his contemporaries during this period (lot 6, estimate: CHF 1,000,000-1,500,000).

Admirers of Ferdinand Holder’s work will be captivated by Thunersee mit Bluüemlisalp und Niesen, a wonderfully atmospheric painting of Lake Thun, a landscape which became a central motif throughout the artist’s career. Executed in the early years of Hodler’s career, this very rare work prefigures well-known later compositions of mountain views overlooking lakes. A true masterpiece, the painting is exquisite in its repetition of forms and perpetual shades of blue (lot 11, estimate: CHF 700,000-900,000).

Collectors will also have the opportunity to acquire Ernest Biéler’s monumental Portraits à Grindelwald from 1906, depicting the four children of the Golliez de Wippens family from Cossonay during their holidays in Grindelwald. Deeply influenced by the ‘Déjeuner sur l'herbe’ realised by Edouard Manet in 1863, this sumptuous painting reveals Biéler’s exquisite attention to decorative elements, including the flowers and textiles, which masterfully complete the landscape (lot 16, estimate: CHF 400,000-600,000).

Further highlights in this impressive roster of works are Paul Camenisch’s Berglandschaft mit Sertigdörfli (Davos) from 1926 and Giovanni Giacometti’s Winter bei St. Moritz (1916). Depicting atmospheric winter landscapes, both works offer a unique view of Engadine, confirming the diversity of style and influences among Swiss art.

Portraying a small village within the municipality of Davos, Camenisch harnesses a German expressionism style while incorporating a unique combination of colours (Camenisch: lot 50, estimate: CHF 100,00-150,000). In Giacometti’s distinctive composition, the artist offers a grandiose experience of his mastery of colour and light to portray the deep snow-covered slopes of Salastrians above St Moritz (Giacometti: lot 26, estimate: CHF 300,000-500,000).

Reflecting the Swiss artist duo’s conceptual style, Peter Fischli & David Weiss’ Schneefall mirrors Joseph Beuys’ 1965 installation of the same name which belongs to the Kunstmuseum in Basel. As with Beuys, this work comprises everyday materials although its individual parts in polyurethane are hand-made and were painted by Fischli & Weiss themselves. Embodying aesthetic references to Marcel Duchamp’s ‘Readymades’, the supposed illusion of their studio’s operating components function here as an ‘artificial Readymade’, and thus stands in contradiction with itself. What remains is the poetry of everyday life, the contemplation of an object which has avoided material use and exists instead as a pure art form (lot 136, estimate: CHF 100,000-150,000).

Movado create watches of exceptional craftsmanship and design distinction. With a long, rich history of artistry, and a close enduring association with the arts, Sotheby’s is excited to auction this timeless limited edition silver and enamel watch. A timepiece designed by Max Bill, this beautiful and vibrant watch showcases the creativity and state-of-the-art technology for which the brand is known (lot 113, estimate: CHF 1,000-3,000).