ZURICH.- One the 25th of June, Sotheby’s will celebrate the 40th anniversary of its first Swiss art auction in Zurich. Since 1979, Sotheby’s is the only auction house to hold twice-yearly sales dedicated to this category. In today’s international market, there are very few countries whose art constitutes a standalone category. Swiss Art is one of these – and this is no coincidence. The success of auctions centred around Switzerland is a testament to the country’s vital position and role in the world of art, going back centuries; the deep and enduring interest of Swiss collectors; and the passion of international buyers.

The growth of these sales, which in 2015 were expanded to thematic sales under the title Swiss Art / Swiss Made, has demonstrated the appeal of the category, as well as its rich diversity – covering art from the 18th century to the present day, created by Swiss artists as well as their counterparts who came to the country to find inspiration. Sotheby’s is the leading force in the field of Swiss Art, with a market share of 58%, and holds the world auction records for key artists including in particular Ferdinand Hodler and Félix Vallotton*.

The upcoming sale on 25 June will be highlighted in particular by two important private collections. The first is from the estate of the prestigious Asbjørn Lunde collection, one of the world’s most important private collections of 19th-century mountain landscapes. The second collection includes exceptional works on paper by Augusto and Giovanni Giacometti, as well as a sublime watercolour by Paul Klee. Figurehead of Swiss painting Ferdinand Hodler will also feature prominently in the upcoming auction, thanks to a masterpiece of portraiture: his rendering of Emma Schmidt-Müller.

Speaking ahead of the sale, Stéphanie Schleining, Head of Swiss Art, commented, “Over the last 40 years, driven by the desire to share Switzerland’s rich artistic heritage, Sotheby’s has nurtured close links with collectors both within the country and further afield. We have always sought to show the key roles played by artists such as Giacometti, Hodler, Vallotton and Klee within the major artistic movements of the 19th and 20th centuries and our sale on the 25th of June has been curated in that same spirit.”

AMONG THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SALE ON 25 JUNE

MASTERWORKS OF ALPINE PAINTING : THE ASBJØRN LUNDE COLLECTION
The Swiss Art team is honoured to have been entrusted with a rare group of landscape paintings depicting Swiss mountain vistas, from the estate of the celebrated Asbjørn Lunde collection. This famous American collector of Scandinavian extraction assembled one of the world’s most important collections of 19th-century Swiss landscapes. Selected works from the collection were exhibited at a dedicated exhibition at the National Gallery in London in 2011.

The leading painting in the group, a superb composition by Alexandre Calame depicting the rive Aare as it makes its way through the Haslital valley in the canton of Bern, ranks among the most important of the artist’s major works (Lot 22, Torrent de montagne par orage, 1850, estimate CHF 80,000 – 120,000 / EUR 70,500 – 106,000).

The same may be said of The Gelmerhorn, a masterwork by François Diday which distils the quintessence of romantic landscapes, and is reminiscent in style of Caspar David Friedrich (Lot 16, The Gelmerhorn, 1857, estimate CHF 40,000 – 60,000/ EUR 35,100 – 53,000).

AN IMPORTANT SWISS PRIVATE COLLECTION
The second collection which will be presented in June is led by exceptional works on paper by Augusto and Giovanni Giacometti, as well as a stunning watercolour by Paul Klee. The group of works showcases the beginnings of abstraction and the innovative exploration by artists such as Augusto and Giovanni Giacometti and Paul Klee into the use of colour, oscillating between the figurative and the abstract.

Paul Klee completed Häuser an der Düne, 1923, a beautiful watercolour, during the most innovative and fruitful period of his artistic career. It is a perfect illustration of his mastery of geometric forms combined with the original interplay of colours which became his signature style while he was teaching at the Bauhaus in Weimar. (Lot 64, estimate CHF 200,000 – 250,000 / EUR 176,000 – 219,000).

With his work Abstraktion nach einem primitiven im Museo Nazionale in Neapel, 1934, Augusto Giacometti takes inspiration from the works of Italian painters of the 12th century to develop his abstract compositions. His method involved adopting the colour-based symbolism of the time, as well as period materials such as gold leaf (Lot 57, estimate CHF 25,000-35,000 / EUR 21,900 – 30,700). The artist reveals himself as one of the pioneers of abstraction, as is visible with other important works such as Bergell (Lot 52, estimate CHF 80,000 – 120,000 / EUR 70,500 – 106,000).

FERDINAND HODLER, Bildnis von Emma Schmidt-Müller, 1915
Ferdinand Hodler’s female portraits are celebrated as some of the most influential works in this genre at the end of the 19th century. This vibrantly colourful masterpiece depicts Emma Schmidt-Müller (sister of the famous collectors Gertrud and Josef Müller).

Portraiture was where Hodler could fully experiment with expression and bold colours, developing a visual language which is reminiscent of both the boldness of the Fauves and works by Egon Schiele and the Viennese Secession (Lot 25, estimate CHF 1,000,000 – 1,500,000 / EUR 880,000 – 1,320,000).

FÉLIX VALLOTTON, Bord de Seine à Tournedos, effet gris
Félix Vallotton will also feature prominently in the Zurich sale. Following the establishment in 2016 of a world auction record price for this artist of international appeal, Sotheby’s specialists have brought together a selection of exceptional landscapes by the artist, including the masterwork, Bord de Seine à Tournedos, effet gris.

The landscapes realised by the painter in the latter part of his life are often imbued with a surreal, slightly eerie feeling; his use of colour and depiction of light create a tension between the familiar and the strange. Completed during a visit to Normandy, this work is a quintessential example of Vallotton’s artistic idiom (Lot 42, estimate CHF 400,000 – 600,000 / EUR 351,000 – 530,000).

MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY ART
The selection of works of Modern and Contemporary Art in the auction includes an exceptional work by Louis Soutter, from an important private collection, as well as an extraordinary and rare sculpture by Hans Josephsohn. The selection also features very interesting pieces by John Armleder, Franz Gertsch and Sylvie Fleury.

Executed between 1937 and 1942, Louis Soutter’s work Mutilés par les saints, 1935 is undeniably one of the most important examples from the artist’s socalled “finger-painting” period. An emblematic work, the composition and title evoking a biblical scene are marked by the revolt, deep anxiety, violence and obsessions so characteristic of his oeuvre (Lot 77, Mutilés par les saints, estimate CHF 200,000 – 300,000 / EUR 176,000 – 263,000).

Fascinated by the notion of the human figure as a volume in space, Hans Josephsohn’s works convey a sense of permanence and contemplation. This large size half-figure in brass is the most important example ever to appear at auction (Lot 89, Untitled, 1987, estimate CHF 150,000 – 200,000 / EUR 132,000 – 176,000).

Geneva-born Alice Bailly, the first and only female Swiss artist to contribute to the Salons in Paris, was an influential member of the French Avant-garde. The sale on 25 June will feature a colourful cubist composition, deeply influenced by futurism (Lot 39, Etude pour Sonate à Dukas (Portrait de Maria de Senger), estimate CHF 120,000 – 150,000 / EUR 106,000 – 132,000).

Following the success of Swiss watches presented in December last year, the spring sale will once again feature a selection of timepieces made in Switzerland.

* World Auction Record Price for a work by Ferdinand Hodler: Lac Léman vu de Saint-Prex – sold for CHF 10.9 million at Sotheby’s Zurich in June 2007 World Auction Record Price for a work by Félix Vallotton: Au marché – sold for CHF 3.5 million at Sotheby’s Zurich in November 2016