LONDON.- The results for yesterday’s successful sales of 19th Century European Paintings (which included German, Austrian, Central European and Orientalist works) and Scandinavian Art at Sotheby’s London are in. The 19th Century European Paintings sale fetched £16 million against a pre-sale estimate of £9,435,000-13,955,000 - one of the highest ever totals for a sale of this kind - while the Scandinavian sale realised an unprecedented £6.4 million against a pre-sale estimate of £4,825,000-7,065,400, a record for a sale of this type at Sotheby’s.

Yesterday’s series of sales fetched a combined total of £22.4 million (pre-sale estimate of £14,260,000-21,020,400) and just a few of the highlights of the sale were:

The German-born Jewish artist Gustav Bauernfeind’s The Wailing Wall, Jerusalem selling for £3 million against a pre-sale estimate of £600,000-800,000 – a new auction record for the artist.

A new auction record for the German artist Adolph von Menzel when his Meissonier in his Studio at Poissy sold for £1,476,000 (est: £400,000-600,000) to Galerie Hans on behalf of a Private Collector.

The French artist Gustave Courbet’s Femme Nue fetching a new auction record for the artist when it sold to an anonymous bidder for £1.6 million (est: £1,500,000-2,500,000).

A new auction record for the Swedish artist August Strindberg when his Alplandskap I realised £2.1million against an estimate of £1,000,000-1,500,000. This price also established a new record for a work by a Swedish artist at auction.

Commenting on the sale, Adrian Biddell, Senior Director and Head of 19th Century Paintings, said: “Yesterday’s full day of sales covered a range of markets (German, Austrian, Central European, Orientalist and Scandinavian) as well as other national schools (notably France, Italy, Belgium and Holland) and we are absolutely thrilled with the results, which show one of the highest ever totals for a series of sales of this kind and reaffirm Sotheby’s dominance in this market. The results show extraordinary strength across all areas of the market, with bidders proving that they will go to any lengths to secure exceptional, quality pieces. In each of the four selling categories, prices exceeded all expectations – with each section highlighted by a work that fetched more than £1 million, all of which established new auction records for the artists (Bauernfeind, Strindberg, Courbet and Menzel). The runaway success of the day was by far Bauernfeind’s The Wailing Wall, which more than quadrupled its pre-sale estimate. This surge in interest in the 19th century field bodes well for our second series of major sales in November this year.”