EDITORIAL

Dear Reader,

Our second major auction series of the year, from 16 June to 1 July, is already just around the corner. Following our successful auction series in March – including a landscape by Pieter Brueghel the Younger which achieved the impressive sum of CHF 1.8 million, and works of art ranging from Antiquity to the 19th century, such as a Roman Venus that changed hands for CHF 1.2 million – we now once again turn our attention to art from the Impressionists to the current day.

The selection is highly promising: Monet’s pastel ‘Waterloo Bridge’; Renoir’s ‘Jeune fille lisant’ and Paul Signac’s ‘La Salute (Venise)’ all remained in private collections for many decades and are now reappearing in public again for the first time. You can learn more about our Impressionist & Modern Art auction in the following articles.

Equally exceptional is the selection of masterworks entrusted to us for the Swiss Art auction on 26 June. Two important landscape paintings by Ferdinand Hodler will come under the hammer, alongside two impressive works by Albert Anker. Particularly remarkable is the early reclining nude painted by Félix Vallotton in 1897 during his so-called Nabis period. The offering is further enriched by outstanding works from numerous major Swiss artists, several of which we present here.

Art from 1945 to the present day has occupied an important place in our auction programme for many years. This time we are presenting works by Dan Flavin, Nicolas de Staël, Robert Rauschenberg, Richard Prince, Damien Hirst, Heinz Mack and many other renowned artists.

Each of our auction series also includes a dedicated jewellery sale. Alongside diamonds and coloured gemstones, creations by celebrated houses such as Cartier, Bulgari and the Munich jeweller Hemmerle are not to be missed.

Our auction of Asian Art will take place on 16 June. In addition to works from China, Tibet, Nepal and India, a private collection of Japanese woodblock prints will also be offered for sale.

What we present on the following pages is only a small selection from the full offering of our June auctions. Our catalogues, all available online in bilingual editions, are well worth exploring, as is a visit to our ten-day preview, which in part coincides with Art Basel.

We look forward to welcoming you.
Sincerely yours,
Cyril Koller