Koller View 1/21

Results of the Swiss Art auction on 4 December 2020 Big names, high prices Exceptional works achieved excellent results in the December auction of Swiss Art. Important paintings by Ferdinand Hodler, Félix Vallotton and Gottardo Segantini attained prices well above their pre-sale estimates. Hodler’s sublime landscape ‘Lake Thun with the Niesen’ and a portrait study from his composition ‘View to Infinity’ attained seven-figure prices, and most mid-price works sold. The auction registered 145% sold by value: a clear indication that the market for Swiss Art is lively and strong, even in the difficult context of the pandemic of 2020. Ferdinand Hodler This impressive Hodler landscape was purchased in 1913 at an exhibition in Solothurn and re- mained in the same family for more than a century before coming to auction. Six competitors from Switzerland and abroad pushed the bidding to 4 million francs, more than three times the low estimate. Lake Thun with Niesen. 1912/13. Oil on canvas. 61.5 × 85.5 cm. Sold for CHF 4 million Ferdinand Hodler Hodler’s oil studies for the monumental mural ‘View to Infinity’ are works of art in their own right. With a lively colour palette and richly detailed execution, they not only reveal the artist’s creative process, but each also develops its own powerful identity. The mural was originally conceived in 1916 for the Kunsthaus Zurich, but turned out to be too large for the intended space. It finally found its place in 1927 in the Basel Kunstmuseum. The mural had been in storage for lack of exhibition space from 1984–2016, and is now again on display. View to Infinity, large head study. 1915–18. Oil on canvas. 70 × 61.5 cm. Sold for CHF 1 million FOR CONSIGNMENT AND ESTIMATES SWISS ART Cyril Koller lkoller@kollerauctions.com