ZURICH.- Cuno Amiet’s portrait of Ferdinand Hodler, the result of a meeting of two Swiss artist icons, commissioned by the important Swiss collector Oscar Miller, realised a price commensurate with its importance in Swiss art history at Koller’s Swiss Art auction on 21 June. A prolonged bidding battle for this masterpiece, a second version of which is in the Kunstmuseum Solothurn, was finally won by a collector in western Switzerland for five times its lower estimate, CHF 1.35 million (lot 3029, estimate CHF 250 000 / 400 000).

The top result in the auction series was a view of the Lake of Geneva by Ferdinand Hodler, a beautiful example of the artist’s trademark Parallelism, which soared past its estimate to sell for CHF 5.1 million to a private Swiss collector (lot 3044, estimate CHF 1.6 / 2.4 million). An oil study by Hodler for his painting ‘Unanimity’ also sold above its upper estimate at CHF 237 000 (lot 3047, estimate CHF 100 000 / 150 000). Further by works by Amiet also did well in the auction, such as CHF 168 000 for an atmospheric view of the Stockhorn (lot 3046, estimate CHF 60 000 / 80 000), as did paintings by Félix Vallotton, for example a female portrait entitled ‘Torse à l’étoffe jaune’, 1913, which sold for CHF 225 000 (lot 3041, estimate CHF 100 000 / 150 000).

The top lot in the Asian Art auction on 18 June was a work by the highly sought-after Chinese artist Lin Fengmian, which sold well above its estimate at CHF 375 000 (lot 251, estimate CHF 180 000 / 250 000). Although the owner was sad to see the painting leave his collection, he can’t complain about the result: he saw the work years ago at a flea market, and although he knew nothing about the artist, fell in love with it and purchased it … for CHF 400. A pair of Hasegawa school standing screens were acquired at the auction by the prestigious Rietberg Museum in Zurich for CHF 150 000 (lot 376, estimate CHF 80 000 / 120 000).

In the Impressionist and Modern Art auction on 21 June, works by early 20th-century woman artists were in demand, such as an autumnal landscape with riders by Marianne von Werefkin that sold for a world auction record CHF 475 000 (lot 3235, estimate CHF 100 000 / 150 000), and Gabriele Münter’s ‘House on the lake with blue mountains’ from 1933–35 that changed owners for CHF 250 000 (lot 3247, estimate CHF 120 000 / 200 000).

Monumental works by Manolo Valdés (lot 3443, estimate CHF 180 000 / 300 000) and Katharina Grosse (lot 3451, estimate CHF 180 000 / 250 000) headlined the PostWar & Contemporary Art auction on 20 June, selling for CHF 350 000 and CHF 225 000, respectively. A sculpture of an ice-skating couple by Niki de Saint Phalle quadrupled its lower estimate at CHF 107 000 (lot 3447, estimate CHF 25 000 / 35 000).

The Jewellery auction on 19 June was once again very successful, with hammer prices totalling 97% of the lower estimates, including a beautiful natural pearl and diamond necklace attributed to Cartier that fetched CHF 400 000 against an estimate of CHF 70 000 / 100 000 (lot 2314). In the Watches auction on 17 June, an early Patek Philippe perpetual calendar watch changed hands for CHF 500 000 (lot 2885, CHF 180 000 / 360 000).