ZURICH.- This evening,
Sotheby’s Zurich sale of Swiss Art/Swiss Made was led by Fleissig/Appliquée, a masterful and rarely-seen portrait by Albert Anker, which fetched CHF 1,215,000 (EUR 1,072,579). Further highlights this evening included a delightful early landscape of Lake Thun by Ferdinand Hodler, Thunersee mit Blüemlisalp und Niesen, which found a buyer for CHF 795,000 (EUR 701,811) and a monumental portrait by Ernest Biéler, Portraits à Grindelwald, which sold for CHF 471,000 (EUR 415,790).
Following record attendance at our pre-sale exhibitions, tonight’s auction achieved a total of CHF 4,980,213 (EUR 4,396,439), bringing the annual total for Sotheby’s Swiss Art sales to CHF 7,404,713 (EUR 6,504,279).
Speaking after the auction, Stéphanie Schleining and Urs Lanter, Co-Heads of Sotheby’s Swiss Art Department, commented, “This masterful portrait by Albert Anker was a fascinating discovery for the market, having been held in a private family collection since the 1930s. We are delighted to have seen it lead a wonderful evening of strong results for Swiss Art, taking in 19th century painting, works of modernism, contemporary art and fine timepieces.”
Renowned for his skill at portraiture, Albert Anker excelled at bringing to life the intimacy of the home. A stunning example of this skill, Fleissig/Appliquée (1886) shows a young girl from the village of Ins, Rosa Stucki, studiously concentrating on her homework. The painting was sold for CHF 1,215,000 (EUR 1,072,579) (lot 6, estimate: CHF 1,000,000-1,500,000 / EUR 875,000 – 1,310,000).
Other standout results this evening include:
A wonderfully atmospheric and very rare early painting of Lake Thun by Ferdinand Hodler, prefiguring the well-known later compositions of mountain views overlooking lakes, realized CHF 795,000 (EUR 701,811) (lot 11, Thunersee mit Blüemlisalp und Niesen, estimate: CHF 700,000-900,000 / EUR 615,000 – 785,000).
Ernest Biéler’s monumental Portraits à Grindelwald from 1906, deeply influenced by the ‘Déjeuner sur l'herbe’ realised by Edouard Manet in 1863, sold for CHF 471,000 (EUR 415,790) (lot 16, estimate: CHF 400,000-600,000 / EUR 349,000 – 525,000).
Giovanni Giacometti’s Winter bei St. Moritz (1916), a grandiose landscape portraying deep snow-covered slopes above St Moritz, shone in the sale room this evening, selling for CHF 375,000 / EUR 331,043 (lot 26, estimate: CHF 300,000-500,000 / EUR 262,000 – 436,000).
Confirming the diversity of style and influences among Swiss art, Paul Camenisch’s Berglandschaft mit Sertigdörfli (Davos) – also depicting a winter landscape in the Engadine, this time in the German expressionist style - was sold for CHF 106,250 (EUR 93,796) (lot 50, estimate: CHF 100,000-150,000 / EUR 87,500 – 131,000).
A wonderful work on paper by Giovanni Segantini, Le due madri, 1892, soared above estimate to achieve CHF 325,000 / EUR 286,904 (lot 10, estimate: CHF 120,000 – 160,000 / EUR 105,000 – 140,000).
A new artist record was set for Charles Hindenlang: his work, Gandria, 1923 sold for CHF 27,500 (EUR 24,267). The price was ten times the low estimate and nearly doubled the previous record of CHF 13,000 set at Dobiaschofsky Auktionen in 2014 (lot 47, estimate: CHF 2,000 – 3,000 / EUR 1,750 – 2,650).
In the Contemporary section of the sale, Peter Fischli & David Weiss’ installation, Schneefall, mirroring Joseph Beuys 1965 ‘Readymade’ of the same name, achieved a final price of CHF 125,000 (EUR 110,348) (lot 136, estimate: CHF 100,000-150,000 / EUR 87,500 – 131,000).
For the first time, this evening’s Swiss Art/Swiss Made sale also included a selection of fine Swiss watches, including pocket watches by Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin as well as wristwatches by Rolex, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet and Movado. The group achieved CHF 50,881 (EUR 44,249) and was 81% sold overall.
