KOLLER VIEW 01/24

20 How have customers’ preferences changed? CK: Twenty years ago, the number of occasional collectors of Swiss art was greater. Consequently, prices for good, but not outstanding, works were better than they are today. Today, exceptional paintings achieve excellent prices. Our auction of Swiss art last December, with high prices for Gi- acometti, Zünd, Anker and Vallotton is a good example of this. Average paintings, on the other hand, are less success- ful. Younger buyers in particular are increasingly focussing on art after 1945, while post-war and contemporary art are now mainstream. We also cover Swiss art from 1950 to the present day, but offer suchworks byMax Bill, FranzGertsch and others in our auctions of international post-war art. Be- yond this current trend, it is above all the really good pictures that will endure in the long term. Ms Koller, when did you decide to join the family busi- ness? Laura Koller: Actually, it was less a conscious decision than an extraordinary opportunity to familiarise myself with an incredibly fascinating activity and to develop it further. I was interested in art from an early age, but the decision to go in this direction professionally only came later. When I was 19, my father invited me to accompany him on a client visit to Bern to view the painting 'Knitting Girl' by Albert Ank- er. That day is a kind of keymoment for me – it still seems like yesterday. A later seminar on forgeries reinforcedmy desire to join the family business. Towards the end of my studies, I was able to start as an assistant in theOldMaster Paintings department. Covid acted as a catalyst for digitalisation. What role does online retail play for you today? CK: We developed our own platform for our online-only auctions even before Covid. We use our ‘ibid’ auctions to broker a large number of items from a wide range of sec- tors. However, we believe that the classic auction room is still more suitable for high-priced works of art. The personal contact between the auctioneer, customers and our staff on thebiddingphones continues tomake a decisivedifference. I don't know whether this will still be the case in ten years' time. But it has long been possible to followour classic room auctions on the Internet and to bid online. Mr Koller, your auction house has been in existence for more than 65 years, with the third generation now in the business. How has the trade in Swiss art changed over the decades? Cyril Koller: Swiss art has always been part of our offering. My father – Laura's grandfather – opened an antiques shop in 1958, where he initially dealt mainly in Swiss engravings. Paintings were soon added. For a long time, we offered Swiss art as part of our paintings auctions alongside inter- national works. In 2006, we separated Swiss art from inter- national art and have been organising separate auctions for both areas ever since. This has given our Swiss art auctions a major boost. It’s a privilege and a pleasure to work with outstanding works of art by important Swiss artists again and again, to ‘own’ them for a short time. –––– ‘The personal contact continues to make a decisive difference’. Cyril Koller –––– ‘Exceptional paintings achieve excellent prices’ Laura and Cyril Koller behind the scenes in the Swiss Art department Albert Anker. Sold for CHF 3 million Ferdinand Hodler. Sold for CHF 4 million Giovanni Giacometti. Sold for CHF 1.1 million How many Swiss works of art come up for auction at Koller each year? LK: We organise classic saleroom auctions twice a year with selected paintings by Swiss artists. That's around 120 paintings per auction. In addition, we auction around 400 more Swiss works in a slightly lower price segment in our 'ibid’ online auctions every year.