Auctions: Hodler and Monet stars of the next Koller sales

The auction week at Koller in Zurich, from November 26 to December 3, promises to break records. In the catalog of impressionist and modern sales, there are indisputable masterpieces, including for sales of Swiss art and contemporary art. Without forgetting this unique private collection of furniture and decorative arts from the 19th^e century. To please yourself and to please, there are of course sales of watches and jewelry. But for a guaranteed surprise effect, why not fall for a fossil or a complete cosmonaut outfit from the Out of This World – Part 5 sale?

The undisputed star of the next sales is undoubtedly “Lake Geneva with Mont-Blanc in the early morning”, created by Ferdinand Hodler during the last months of his life, in March 1918. The works from this period all represent Lake Geneva and Mont Blanc, and they are now part of art history. Here, the Swiss painter flirts with abstraction as the landscape seems to melt into infinity.

The oil on canvas in question is estimated at between 4 and 6 million francs. It has only had three owners. When Hodler died, the Moos gallery in Geneva took it over and sold it to the chemist and collector Arthur Stoll. It was resold in the 1990s to a Swiss collector. The piece has also been widely published and exhibited over time.

Among the other key lots, we also note “Le bassin d’Argenteuil” by Claude Monet. An early oil on canvas set in the surroundings of the town of Argenteuil located northwest of Paris. The work in question is one of the few from the period that is still in private hands. Estimate: between 2.5 and 4 million francs. Let us also note “Morality of Sleep”, by René Magritte, a surrealist gouache whose title is taken from a poem by Paul Éluard, his faithful traveling companion. As for the PostWar & Contemporary sale, the big names are there; Alexander Calder, Roni Horn, Fischli/Weiss, Franz Gertsch and even Sol Lewitt with unique works.

We will conclude with the most unexpected of sales, the Out of this World Part V, whose flagship lot is an Omega Speedmaster worn by Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka in space. The watch is presented with its original astronaut bracelet and is accompanied by this space legend’s glove. Let us remember here that Padalka spent nearly 879 days in orbit! A video accompanies the lot, we see the man wearing the glove and the Speedmaster in question. Estimate: between 120,000 and 180,000 francs. And last wink: Harry Potter’s magic wand used during the filming of the film, in 2005, estimated between 8,000 and 12,000 francs.

Carol Kittner East journalist for the magazine Tribune des Arts since 2021. Specialist in contemporary art, watchmaking and jewelry, she worked for Edelweiss and worked in public relations in the world of luxury since 2001. More info

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