VIENNA.- 2021 was a year of great success at Dorotheum with world record prices achieved by all of the picture departments, the highest ever turnover for modern art and over all, the best year in the history of the auction house. The art market is sending positive signals as the world wide interest in alternative investments, including the purchase of works of art, continues to grow.

“The rapid rise in the number of online bids we are receiving confirms the importance of the development of our increased online presence. Our wide-ranging strategy of digital expansion, which was already underway before the pandemic began, is in large part to thank for the success our auctions have enjoyed of the past year," sums up Managing Partner of Dorotheum, Martin Böhm,: "We are continuously working on expanding our digital presence."

Strong modernity

The Modern Art department fared particularly well in 2021, achieving the best overall sale result in the history of Dorotheum. This was despite the fact that the view of the November sale could only be held virtually, and participants were only able to bid by telephone, in writing or via online live bidding.

The sale of Albin Egger-Lienz's monumental work "Totentanz 1809" from 1916 for over just over a million euros set an auction record for a work by the artist in the June 2021 sale. A further world record price of 965,300 euros was achieved in June for a painting by Alfons Walde, and in November, Dorotheum achieved another top price for the same artist with the sale of the Tyrolean subject "Wilder Kaiser with Farmhouse in Winter" which was sold to a telephone bidder for just under 800,000 euros after a bidding battle lasting several minutes. Prices also far exceeded expectations for works by André Derain and Fernand Léger among others.

Maria Lassnig's large format "Wild Animals are Endangered" (1980) sold for 1,3million euros. This was the highest price ever achieved at an auction for a contemporary Austrian work of art. Works by Georges Mathieu, Alighiero Boetti, Piero Dorazio and Kenny Scharf also fetched especially high prices. Works by Austrian artists, such as Martha Jungwirth, Hermann Nitsch, Max Weiler or Otto Muehl, were knocked down at top prices.

In the field of 19th Century Paintings, an attractive city view of Venice by Luigi Querena rose to a world record price of 528,000 euros and another world record was set with 283,900 euros for a six-meter-long Alpine panorama by Markus Pernhart.

There was also strong demand for Old Master paintings, with major works entering important international collections after sale at Dorotheum. A painting of the Holy Family by Peter Paul Rubens and workshop fetched 548,200 euros in the autumn sale, and a magnificent portrait of Vincenzo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, painted by Rubens’ compatriot and colleague at the court in Mantua, Frans Pourbus the Younger, fetched an outstanding 332,518 Euro. With a hammer price of 475,064 euros, Dorotheum set a world record for a work by the Caravaggist painter Giovanni Francesco Guerrieri, entitled “Lot and his Daughters”.

Around 100,000 works of art and collectibles have changed hands at Dorotheum over the past year and we have conducted over 700 auctions in the sale room, with live bidding and online facilities also available.

At the top

At the beginning of December, Dorotheum recorded its best auction of wristwatches ever. Over one million euros were realised from the sale of an Austrian private collection alone. In addition to excellent results in the Art Nouveau and Design and Jewellery departments, the Classic Car Department once again confirmed its traditional strength: here the Italians came out on top with the 1971 Dino 246 GT and the 1979 Lamborghini Countach LP400 S (€ 495,800, € 460,000).