ZURICH.- Koller's Swiss Art auction on 4 December will feature an exceptional number of artworks by Ferdinand Hodler from several important collections. Among the nine lots by the Swiss master in this sale is an enchanting view of Lake Thun with the Niesen, 1912-13, one of the relatively few examples of this subject still available on the market, as most are in museum collections (lot 3031, CHF 1.2 - 1.8 million). Another iconic image by Hodler, "The Reaper", circa 1910, was illustrated on the Swiss 100-franc bank note from 1911-1958. Formerly in the collection of Karl G. Steiner, one of the most important collectors of Hodler's work, it is expected to realise between CHF 800 000 and 1.2 million (lot 3037). Also painted in 1910, "Pine by a stream" is a vibrantly coloured work with a long provenance that includes the legendary Berlin art dealer Paul Cassirer, promoter of Van Gogh and Cézanne (lot 3039, CHF 750 000/950 000). A female head with a contemplative gaze, a study for Hodler's "View to Infinity", is estimated to bring CHF 350 000/500 000 (lot 3029).

Other significant works in the Swiss Art auction include a charming painting of a young girl busily writing by Albert Anker (lot 3014, CHF 450 000/650 000), and multiple works by two classic Swiss artists: Giovanni Giacometti, with for example "Snowy village scene in Capolago", 1932 (lot 3052, CHF 150 000/250 000), and Cuno Amiet, including "Garden" (lot 3038, CHF 70 000/120 000). Félix Vallotton's mysterious "Baigneuse aux mouettes" (Bather with seagulls), 1919 (lot 3036, CHF 70 000/100 000), depicts a female nude in a nearly Surrealist atmosphere.




Karl Schmidt-Rottluff's "Pines in the Spessart", 1950, to be offered in the 4 December Impressionist & Modern Art auction, is a mature work and a culmination of the artist's lifelong experimentation with landscapes. Through clearly separated fields of intense colour, Schmidt-Rottluff creates a nearly abstract landscape of his beloved mountain retreat (lot 3245, CHF 150 000/250 000). "Femme au cerisier" (Woman at a cherry tree), 1924, by Auguste Herbin (lot 3234), was painted during the artist's brief return to figuration (1922-25). Herbin lends a sense of monumentality to this composition through the reduction of forms to basic patterns and the use of strong contours and shadow lines (CHF 140 000/200 000). A landscape from Alexej von Jawlensky's stay in Reicherthausen in Upper Bavaria in 1904, "Herbst I" (lot 3220), was inspired by Van Gogh's works, which Jawlensky had studied a year earlier. Landscapes from this decisive moment in the artist's career are rare on the market; in fact this is the first one to be offered since the 1990s (CHF 80 000/120 000).

Collectors of studies by Christo & Jeanne-Claude will have a choice of several works in the PostWar & Contemporary auction on 5 December, such as a large (244 x 38 cm and 244 x 106.6 cm) two-part study for the artist couple's pan-continental "Umbrellas" project (lot 3458, CHF 150 000/200 000). Mark Tobey is also well-represented in the 5 December auction with six temperas on paper, including "Circular Rhythms", 1975 (lot 3406, CHF 80 000/140 000). One of Otto Piene's trademark grid paintings, "Rasterbild 2", 1957 (lot 3410) will be offered with an estimate of CHF 100 000/150 000. Pierre Alechinsky's untitled painting from 1958 exhibits the sort of controlled frenzy that often characterises the works of the CoBrA group co-founder. Its innate tension is contained within a frame-like painted border (lot 3405, CHF 80 000/120 000).

The two images most often associated with Andy Warhol - Campbell's Soup and Marilyn Monroe - are both present in the 5 December auction of Prints & Multiples (lots 3755 and 3753, CHF 80 000/120 000 and CHF 20 000/30 000). A number of Pablo Picasso's graphic works will also be offered, notably the linocut "Grande tête de Jacqueline au chapeau", 1962 (lot 3680, CHF 80 000/120 000). A group of 18 ceramic works in the auction which Picasso made in the 1940s-1960s at the Madoura workshop in Vallauris includes "Lampe femme", 1955 (lot 3652, CHF 12 000/18 000).