The auction house ended the current year with a very successful auction. First things first – we are delighted to announce one fantastic record! It goes to Rudolf Wacker's "Autumn Bouquet with Lemon Butterfly", which fetched € 512,000, the highest price ever achieved for a painting by this artist in Austria.
Contemporary Art
As always, Martha Jungwirth's appeal for bidders did not disappoint. Her untitled oil painting from 2011 changed hands for 132,000 € (highest bid € 100,000). The work is representative of the artist's characteristically poetic oil paintings, which are unique in Austrian contemporary painting.
Furthermore, we are also pleased about the lively interest and the many bids which made our "Nitsch-festival " a great success. The impact of the artist (who died this year) on the art market remains strong. Markus Prachensky, of whom we were able to offer nine early works from a private collection, was also highly popular.
Modern Art
The magnificent "Autumn Bouquet with Lemon Butterfly" by Rudolf Wacker achieved the Austrian record of € 512,000 (highest bid € 400,000). The painting was executed in 1937, has not yet been presented to the public and never been on the market before. The interest was therefore high; and for a long time the battle went on between a bidder in the room and a telephone bidder, until finally the present bidder prevailed.
Only a few minutes later, another record was achieved! "Two Reclining Nudes" by Karl Sterrer from the war year 1917 exceeded their estimated price many times over and were sold for € 66,000 (highest bid € 50,000). This makes the work the artist's second most expensive work ever auctioned.
19th Century Paintings
As expected, there was great interest in the wonderful painting "The Homecoming", created in 1864 by Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller. It was a new discovery, which has not yet been mentioned in literature, and had been in Viennese private ownership for decades. It was worth € 154,000 (highest bid € 120,000) to the highest bidder.
The "Warrior from Montenegro", captured by Paul Joanovits in 1907, made many bidders' hearts beat faster. It exceeded its highest estimate by far and was sold for € 77,000 (highest bid € 60,000).
Regina Leopoldine (Tina) Blau is one of the most famous female Viennese painters of the 19th Century. Her painting "Partie aus dem Prater (Frühling)" (Trip from the Prater, Spring), created around 1880/81, aroused much interest and was finally sold for € 103,000 (highest bid € 80,000). The larger painting "Spring in the Prater", which bears a similar subject and was created one year later by Blau, is in the collection of the Austrian Gallery Belvedere.
Art Nouveau
The magnificent "Chandelier from the Villa Otto Böhler", executed by the Wiener Werkstätte in 1918 after a design by Josef Hoffmann, found much favor in the room and among the telephone bidders. Hoffmann's design cleverly combines the traditional material lead crystal with modern, reduced elements. It was finally sold far above the estimated price for € 231,000 (highest bid € 180,000).
Another chandelier, this time designed by Koloman Moser in 1901 for the Viennese company E. Bakalowits' sons, was also very much sought-after. The hammer finally fell at €32,000 (highest bid €25,000).
Old Masters
In this category, € 90,000 (highest bid € 70,000) was the fantastic result for a painting by the Cremonese artist Antonio Campi, which depicts the "Portrait of a Watch Collector" and was created around 1500. Experts described it as an authentic masterpiece and an important contribution to Cremonese portraiture in the 16th century.
Another highlight, achieving € 103,000 (highest bid € 80,000) is the result of the counterparts "la Justice / la Prudence" by Marcantonio Franceschini. These had been commissioned by Prince Johann Adam Andreas von Liechtenstein in 1691 from the master himself and were kept in his collection.
Antiques
A veritable bidding war was ignited by a mask of shame, created in the 16th century in Krems. This reached € 30,000 (highest bid €23,000) and goes to a museum. In the Middle Ages, the wearing of masks of shame was one of the so-called honour punishments, which had the purpose of publicly mocking the accused.
A wonderfully preserved cabinet made of walnut wood, probably from Augsburg and dated to the end of the 16th century, also exceeded its estimated price and went for € 39,000 (highest bid €30,000). (Alexandra Markl)