Modern Art
The high expectations for Carl Moll's "Garden in Spring on the Hohe Warte" were fulfilled thanks to an exciting bidding war; the painting from 1903 fetched 486,000 € (380,000 € HP) and went to an Austrian bidder. It is the artist's second most expensive work ever sold at auction. Another painting by Moll was also successful; his "Allee in Schönbrunn" sold for €115,500 (€90,000 HP).
Rudolf Wacker's "Lakeside Landscape" was highly sought-after; the work, created in 1936, fetched 384,000 € (300,000 € HP) and thus took third place on the auction list of the painter from Bregenz. His smaller-scale "Lake Constance Landscape" was almost as popular, fetching €102,500 KP (€80,000 HP). In general, there is a great deal of interest in the artist's works; Out of six works in the auction, four were sold.
As always, the auction house in Kinsky also proved its strength in the works of Werner Berg. "Homeward to the Wiesenmarkt" from 1963 achieved 145,000 € (110,000 € HP), while the "Kegler bei Sonnenuntergang", a very popular subject of the artist, came to 125,000 € (95,000 € HP).
Other highlights were, as expected, the "View into the Gailtal" by Sebastian Isepp, which found a new owner for 66,000 € (50,000 € HP) and is thus the third most expensive painting by the artist; as well as the "Peasant Women" by Egon Schiele, which was sold for 256,000 € (200,000 € HP).
The auction house was also able to set a new record for a pastel by the animal painter Norbertine Bresslern-Roth! "Two Polar Bears", created around 1922, was sold for 59,500 € (45,000 € HP), making it the most expensive paper work ever auctioned by the Graz native.
Contemporary Art
The paintings of the great Maria Lassnig are still in great demand; her "Fallen Girl" from 1962/63 fetched the record price of 456,000 € (with buyers premium; 350,000 € hammer price). The hermaphrodite creature on a green background is depicted in the red and purple tones typical of Lassnig; it refuses any communication.
The auction house proved to be as strong as ever with the works of Martha Jungwirth; a large-format, untitled work from 1986 achieved a record result of €215,500 (€150,000 HP). The cardboard, laminated on canvas, allows the color fields (in the red and purple tones typical of the artist) and lines to emerge in an almost three-dimensional way.
A work by Rudolf Stingel from Merano from 1997 also achieved a great result, it was sold for 171,000 € (130,000 € HP).
Karl Korab's aficionados competed for a rare, large-format painting entitled "Angel's Head" from the early 1970s. In the end, with a lower estimate of 25,000 €, it changed hands for 69,000 € (52,000 € HP).
Sculptures enjoyed great popularity: a world record was set for the marble, "Drunken Silen" by Alfred Hrdlicka with 131,000 € (100,000 € HP)! It is part of the "Hommage à Géricault" cycle, in which Hrdlicka pays homage to the French artist. The work originates from the Sanziany & Palais Rasumofsky Collection in Vienna.
There was also great interest in the "Figure IV – Fully Symmetrical Figure" by Joannis Avramidis from 1963, which finally found a new owner for 125,000 € (95,000 € HP).
Jewellery
Within just one year, the auction house was able to successfully establish itself with its new jewelry division. For example, after a heated battle, a telephone bidder bought an emerald ring of 37 ct with 2 diamonds for 576,000 € (450,000 € HP).
Art Nouveau & Design
A world record was set by a chandelier designed by Dagobert Peche for the Wiener Werkstätte in 1921. On the last day of the auction, the brass chandelier with silk lampshade from the Leopold Collection fetched 512,000 € (400,000 € HP).
Old Master Paintings
There was great interest in the first edition of a "complete systematic history of the shellfish cases", originally called "Prodromus in systema historicum testaceorum", from the year 1795. With a lower estimate of €10,000, the work by Joachim Johann Nepomuk Anton Spalowsky fetched an impressive €38,500 (€30,000 HP).
A family portrait of Prince Georg Wilhelm of Hesse-Darmstadt and his sister Karoline Luise also exceeded expectations many times over. The painting by Johann Christian Fiedler, which shows the two aristocrats around 1750 in magnificent interiors, was sold for 31,000 € (24,000 € HP).
Finally, works by Martin Johann Schmidt, known as Kremser Schmidt, really fuelled the bidding spirit. First and foremost is a self-portrait by the artist, circa 1765-70, which doubled the estimate at € 21,000 (16,000 € HP). The drawings, of which the auction had more than a dozen to offer, also sold brilliantly.
19th Century Paintings
After a bidding war, two oil paintings by František Kaván went to the Czech Republic. His "River Landscape" was highly sought-after and fetched €38,500 (€30,000 HP). His atmospheric landscape painting "At Chrudimka's in the Evening" went for 18,000 € (14,000 € HP), a multiple of the starting price.
Antiques
A real battle broke out over an Iznik plate, dated 1550-55, which fetched a fantastic €54,000 (€42,000 HP) with an estimate of €5,000 - €10,000.
Watches
There was a lot of interest in the large selection of pocket watches, 30 of the 41 pocket watches were sold. Particularly noteworthy is a pocket watch with chronograph and minute repeater made by E. Mathey Tissot & Cie, Switzerland, around 1920. This multiplied its estimate and finally found a new owner for 27,000 € (21,000 € HP).
(Alexandra Markl)