VIENNA.- The second and final instalment of the collection of the Viennese art dealer Reinhold Hofstätter (the first part was successfully sold at Dorotheum in May 2017) is due to come up for auction at Vienna Dorotheum on 26th September 2017. The auction features nearly 400 objects from his elegant residence on Strudlhofstiege and the inventory of his former antique shop in Vienna's central district.

Major art-nouveau names
Old master- and 19th century paintings as well as sculptures from the Gothic to the Baroque period are among the auction's classics. The prime focus on this occasion however, is on a less well-known aspect of Reinhold Hofstätter's interests as a collector, and that is Jugendstil, which is prominently represented by the work of Josef Frank, Josef Hoffmann, Dagobert Peche and Otto Prutscher.

A native of Vienna, the architect Josef Frank is known for his uncluttered and functional forms. The auction features a commode designed in 1912, estimated at €22,000 to €30,000, and originally displayed at the 1912 Kunstgewerbeschule Exhibition, Room XIII, as the living-hall of a country residence at the ÖMKI (Österreichisches Museum für Kunst und Industrie), which is today's Museum of Applied Art.

Dagobert Peche contributes a fanciful yellow sideboard dating to around 1920: the facing side is decorated with polychrome floral ornaments, carved reliefs, and silver coloured painted décor (€20,000 – €30,000).

Artistic provenance
One of the lots coming up for auction was previously owned by renowned Austrian actor Josef Meinrad (1913 – 1996), whose villa once housed a fountain designed in 1926 by Otto Prutscher and made by Wienerberger Keramik (€30,000 – €40,000). Two chairs of white-painted wood, designed around 1910 by Josef Hoffmann are expected to bring in €5,000 to €8,000. The same model chair featured in the bedroom furnishings of actress Mimi Marlow.

A short excursion into Op Art takes us to a tapestry by Victor Vasarely, manufactured by the studio of Tabard Freres & Soeurs (€8,000 – €10,000).

Makart & Laske
In the category of 19th and 20th century painting, two works in particular stand out: Hans Makart's 187 x 285 cm oil painting ”Ein Sommernachtstraum“ estimated at €50,000 to €70,000, and Oskar Laske's tempera ”Der jüngste Tag“ dating to 1927, with the same estimate. The other two versions of this Laske piece are at the Ostdeutsche Galerie in Regensburg and in a Viennese private collection.

Collection Reinhold Hofstätter
Born in Vienna, Reinhold Hofstätter (1927 – 2013) opened his first shop in Dorotheergasse in 1953, and a second one in Bräunerstraße in the late 1960s. Dorotheum previously held highly successful auctions of the furnishings of his country residence at Schwallenbach Manor (in autumn 2016) and, in May 2017, the first part of his collection. "These auctions, have shown that antiques continue to be in great demand provided that the criteria of high quality and significant provenance are met", according to Dorotheum’s specialist Alexander Doczy's who made these comments after the May 2017 auction.